FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
health
Cutting-edge tumor tests reveal new cancer treatment options
In the fall of 2017, Elissa Reynolds was
shocked by a stage four colorectal cancer
diagnosis at 35 years old. Almost two
years later, she has hope for the future
thanks to innovative tests on her living
tumor tissue, which revealed personalized
treatment options for her specific
cancer.
“Aft er my diagnosis, I was determined
to do whatever it took to beat cancer, so
I began researching all of the treatment
options I could,” she said. “Meeting my
oncologist, Dr. Christina Saurel, and surgeon,
Dr. Ken Dixon, gave me a whole
new perspective on the level of innovative
care I could receive locally.”
While Reynolds and her health care
team initially started a traditional chemotherapy
course, due to the advanced
nature of her cancer, they also considered
other treatment methods.
“Because Elissa presented with an
advanced colon cancer that had spread
to her liver, we were uncertain of her
care and had to think outside the box,”
Saurel said. “Although one of her tumors
responded to chemotherapy and shrank
to the point Dr. Dixon could remove it,
the other tumor did not, which meant we
had to get creative.”
A new option for personalized
treatment
Reynolds had other options to consider
because Dixon preserved her living
tumor tissue and shipped it to a state-ofthe
art laboratory, where specialists tested
the cells with more than 130 drugs to see
what potential future treatments would be
most eff ective.
No two cancers are the same, and
Dixon knew that her living tumor sample
could off er information on how to
treat her unique cancer that a traditional
tissue sample could not. He feels so
strongly about this matter that he founded
SpeciCare, an organization dedicated
to helping patients across the country
preserve their living tumor tissue for their
own benefi t.
“Under current practice guidelines, cancer
tissue dies when it is removed, which
limits the information it can provide,”
Dixon said. “However, if a tumor is preserved
alive and tested, it has the power
to unlock the secret to personalized care.
SpeciCare links research, clinical care and
precision medicine, so patients have the
greatest chance at survival.”
Looking toward the future
Th e tests on Reynolds’ living tumor
tissue found 20 new treatment options
for her care team to consider that likely
would have remained unknown if Dixon
had not preserved her tumor. In fact,
none of the new therapy options revealed
through the tests are commonly used for
metastatic colorectal cancer; traditionally,
they are prescribed for other cancers, such
as leukemia and breast cancer.
“Cancer is very tricky - you can’t always
predict how a person’s unique cancer will
react to a drug based on its location,” said
Dixon.
For Reynolds, it doesn’t matter how the
drugs are normally used; her only concern
is whether they kill her tumor cells. Now,
because of the new treatment options
available to her, Reynolds knows that if
her cancer stops responding to one drug,
there are other therapies she can try. Also,
her living tumor tissue tests helped identify
two clinical trials she can pursue.
“Without SpeciCare, there would be no
more options for me; I’d be living with
the tumor. Now this is giving me hope
of shrinking it and having it removed,”
Reynolds said. “Th is has opened up so
many more options for treatment. It’s
been a crazy journey, but it’s also been
pretty miraculous.”
To learn more, visit specicare.com/hope
or call 833-242-2873.
Courtesy BPT
/WWW.QNS.COM
/hope
