Losing Someone to Breast Cancer

Submitted by Anonymous

Breast cancer! We had never had anyone with breast cancer in our family. Yet my sister at 52 was diagnosed with breast cancer. A small lump we thought, a quick lumpectomy, and she will be ok. She had a PET scan and it lit up everywhere. I remember exactly where I was when my other sister called me and told me of the PET scan results. There was a new Avastin trial for breast cancer and she could enroll in it. Avastin had shown good results for colon cancer. However, with the randomization process we would not know if she was receiving Avastin or placebo. She decided to be included in the trial. Her labs and vital signs clearly revealed that she was getting Avastin. We were ecstatic. She was also receiving the standard chemotherapy. The tumors were shrinking. The tumors reduced significantly for the first two years. And then the tumors in the liver started getting bigger. The Avastin trial results came out and showed that Avastin had no effect on breast cancer and the trial was aborted. Her chemotherapy had to be changed and then changed again. My sister fought a four year battle. She stayed strong. Not once did I see a tear in her eyes. She left us with two beautiful gifts, her two daughters. Whenever I miss her, I see a glimpse of her in them.