I posted on Facebook earlier today about the Johns Hopkins Below the Belt Strive & Thrive 5K/1-mile run/walk that I am participating in this weekend. In my post I also mentioned that I signed consent for a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins. Since then I have received many texts and emails asking for details on the trial, so I figured I should stop procrastinating and post an update. Thank you all for your continued support!!!

Since my last update, I received the FoundationOne tumor testing results. It didn’t give me much new information, but did detect one genomic alteration that I wasn’t aware. Over the past two months, I have met with Dr.Rosenshein, Dr. Armstrong, and Dr. Fader several times. Bloodwork has been every two weeks. At my bloodwork visit on April 25, I told my nurse about changes I’ve noticed on my breast. She thought it best for Dr. Rosenshein to take a look so I went to see him. He was concerned and recommended that he perform a biopsy. He did, the next morning bright and early. The results of the biopsy showed progression, so we pushed up my CT scan. On May 2, I had a CT scan. The results of the CT scan showed slight progression under my left arm,other locations are stable. These results kind of opened up clinical trial opportunities for me.

I have been researching clinical trials for a while and it was now time to finalize which one I was going to go after. In researching clinical trials, around April 18 I was on the phone with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas and realized that the trial they were telling me about is the initial clinical trial that Dr. Armstrong at Johns Hopkins was hoping to get me involved in the first place. As it turns out, it was reopening! It was originally suspended due to a drug shortage. So, I am happy to report that I have signed consent to be part of this clinical trial at Johns Hopkins (thus I am no longer taking Femara). The trial is studying how well Trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, works in comparison to standard treatment of care in patients with low-grade ovarian cancer. I am excited to get started on my new treatment plan. There are a lot of steps to it, so I don’t know exactly when I will be starting either the trial drug or standard of care treatment, but the process has been initiated.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good. I am running, which leads me back to that race this Sunday at Goucher College in Baltimore (https://www.crowdrise.com/we-fight-for-stef). I’ll be there and would love to see familiar faces on the course or in the crowd. Keep the prayers coming. Thank you!! – Stef