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Pam Zwemer was first treated for breast cancer in 2000 and then took tamoxifen for five years. In 2008, shortly after turning 50, she learned that the cancer had returned in her bones. She restarted tamoxifen and began traveling from Virginia to Dana-Farber for specialist follow-up.
In 2011, the breast cancer spread to her stomach lining. Zwemer then joined a clinical trial using letrozole with BKM120. Her Dana-Farber oncologist coordinated care with her local oncology team, allowing her to continue treatment while maintaining her work and home life.
Despite Stage IV disease, Zwemer kept teaching high school math. Her school community raised money to help with travel, and she made regular trips to Boston for care before returning to the classroom. More than 11 years after her original breast cancer diagnosis, she was living with metastatic disease and continuing treatment while emphasizing that Stage IV cancer was only one part of her identity.
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Dana-Farber. Read the original in full
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These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer