Katrina

Katrina was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in her 30s after discovering a large lump and atypical vein in her breast. Learn more about Katrina’s experiences with breast cancer here. Despite aggressive treatment, her cancer spread throughout her body, including to her lungs, brain, and neck. After it was clear Katrina’s cancer was spreading, she was “panicking” and thinking “it’s all over” but her clinician suggested they “see about a clinical trial.” She participated in two, including taking Taxol and one other pill, which “didn’t work.” During the trial, her cancer “grew to all my lymph nodes and everything… just everywhere.”

Katrina’s trials weren’t successful in slowing the progression of her disease, and it’s made her wonder “is it worth doing all that I’m doing with these clinical trials?” She worries she is “wasting time” and should maybe “just believe in my God and that I will be healed.” Despite not having success with the trials, it meant she was in the doctor’s office more often. Katrina is on Medicaid and “always” worried she might “run out” and getting denied for scans. The trail meant she got “scans every three months and stuff” and felt like overall “they monitor me better through the clinical trial” than usual. With her uphill battle, “sometimes, I ask myself sometime, do I go on?” however she sees the people around her battling cancer and is motivated to “keep fighting.”