“I consider myself very fortunate,” shares Maria. “I took part in the clinical study with the goal to help others.”
Participating in a clinical trial often represents an opening to new possibilities, offering patients the opportunity to access unique treatment while contributing to the advancement of medical research. After being diagnosed with breast cancer following her annual mammogram, 67-year-old Maria Stevens was offered and enrolled in the I-SPY 2 clinical trial, with the hope that her participation had the potential to find a better treatment option for future patients.
Maria’s Story
In 2023, with no medical history or lumps, Maria’s annual mammogram had found something -- she would be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Maria describes her experience as an unexpected journey. “Along the journey there were several specialists, tests and surgical procedures, but each step of the way brought many blessings that would never have happened without a cancer diagnosis,” she shares.
Maria’s year-long treatment started shortly after her diagnosis and included immunotherapy, chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and radiation therapy through the I-SPY 2 clinical trial. The trial, available to CBMC patients through a partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, aims to improve outcomes for breast cancer patients by identifying therapies that can be given before surgery more quickly and effective. It tests both new and existing options, with most people receiving an investigational drug that would not be available to them as standard treatment.
“I consider myself very fortunate,” shares Maria. “I took part in the clinical study with the goal to help others.”
She is also incredibly thankful to her team of doctors from Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, including medical oncologist and Section Chief of Medical Oncology, Stuart Leitner, MD, breast surgeon Janette McDermott, MD, and Alison Grann, MD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology as well as Director of Network Integration and Quality, Radiation Oncology, Northern Region RWJBarnabas Health.
After what she has been through, Maria remains positive and likes to garden, travel, walk, and spend time with her many friends. She is proud to add cancer survivor next to the many other titles that she has held over the years, including daughter, sister, wife, mother and widow. She encourages women aged 40 and over to go for their annual mammogram.