| It seems that there are so many charitable | | | | the type she had was slow to develop, and they |
| causes that you cannot begin to give to all of | | | | felt that it was at a very early stage. The breast |
| them. My husband and I give to our church and | | | | cancer research that developed the treatments |
| the charities that it sponsors. That is the bulk of | | | | they were to use on her was done at the Mayo |
| our cash donations. We also give to the food shelf | | | | Clinic. |
| and donate clothing and house hold items to the | | | | I called our nephew who is a pharmaceutical |
| homeless and needy. It was not until my sister | | | | researcher at the Mayo and asked him if he could |
| developed cancer that I thought about donating | | | | find additional information about this particular |
| to medical research. | | | | breast cancer research. He told me that a friend |
| Eighteen months ago my sister called me to let | | | | of his was working on the breast cancer research |
| me know that she had been diagnosed with | | | | team and he could find out what type of results |
| breast cancer. This came as a huge surprise to | | | | they are getting with the patients that have been |
| both of us because there is no history in our | | | | taking the treatments. He called me a few days |
| family. She is an x-ray technician so she is very | | | | later and shared that the results have been very |
| aware of the importance of getting | | | | good. He also thought that it was a plus for my |
| mammograms and she has been getting one | | | | sister that she was chosen for the treatments, |
| every year since she was forty years old. It was | | | | because they are only taking candidates that |
| during her annual mammogram that the lump | | | | have a good chance of responding to the |
| showed up on the test. The doctors told her all of | | | | treatments. The breast cancer research project |
| her options and shared with her that they thought | | | | has been working on this cure for over ten years, |
| she would be a good candidate for a new | | | | so they need to show great results to keep the |
| treatment. There have been many advancements | | | | project going. |
| in breast cancer research and they wanted to try | | | | My sister had her first treatment seventeen |
| a new chemotherapy on her. Since my sister is in | | | | months ago and the lump and all signs of cancer |
| the medical field she has always had an interest in | | | | are gone. She is in a long term follow up group so |
| new research. She was willing to try the | | | | they are checking her often for any changes. She |
| treatments. If they did not work they would | | | | did not have to have the surgery and she is back |
| remove her breast. They explained that she | | | | to doing all the activities that she had done |
| would not be risking the cancer spreading because | | | | previously. |