HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Jane's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Jane Dennington was living in Haiti with her husband, Bud, doing missionary work when she noticed a growing lump in her breast. Local X-ray equipment malfunctioned, and she was told everything looked fine, but Jane knew the lump was getting bigger. She returned to the United States and, one day after arriving, was seen at Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Jame Abraham. Jane was 65 and was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease. Treatment started immediately with chemotherapy to reduce the tumor size, Herceptin to target HER2-positive disease, and then surgery. Jane did not have a complete positive response to the first treatment, which made her eligible for the KATHERINE clinical trial. She enrolled in the study and received Kadcyla, a drug therapy later reported in trial findings to reduce the risk of recurrence for HER2-positive breast cancer compared with Herceptin. As of January 2019, Jane was cancer-free for almost 5 years. She and Bud had moved back to the United States but continued missionary and volunteer work. Jane also mentored other breast cancer patients through the 4th Angel Mentoring Program, crediting successful treatment with allowing her to keep serving others.