Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Survivor Story: Davi D'Agostino

When Davi D'Agostino was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in early 2018, she didn't let the odds deter her. She sought out information from reliable sources, advocated for herself and used her support network to find a treatment plan that worked – including a clinical trial.

D'Agostino began her treatment with a standard of care chemotherapy. The treatment was working, but she experienced many strong side effects.

Meanwhile, molecular profiling revealed that D'Agostino's tumors had a BRCA mutation. After nine rounds of chemotherapy, D'Agostino enrolled in a clinical trial for patients with this mutation.

She shared, "PanCAN personnel were excellent and did a narrowed search of clinical trials, with the knowledge of my BRCA2 tumor mutation and a geographic parameter I provided. They reduced a hundred possible trials down to 22. The trial I chose seemed tailor-made for my situation."

On the trial, D'Agostino received access to an investigational targeted therapy that is working well for her. Though she experienced side effects at first, they quickly tapered off.

Her primary tumor has stayed stable, and in January 2019, an MRI revealed no visible or measurable metastases (tumors outside the pancreas). These positive results continue today.


Contact Patient Central for free information about clinical trials and molecular profiling, including a personalized clinical trials search.

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