In August of 2017, Mary Westphal, Executive Director of Komen of Northwest Ohio connected me with Dr. Amit Tiwari, Assistant Professor of University of Toledo Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Dr. Tiwari contacted me in regards to a research project that he has been researching for a few years on Drug Resistance in Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I immediately was eager to learn more on his research since this was the type of breast cancer I was diagnosed with in 2009. I agreed to meet up with Dr. Tiwari and his assistant researcher, Angelique for lunch where he presented to me his research, overcoming drug resistance in Triple Negative Breast Cancer cells in a culture dish setting.
Dr. Tiwari was ready to continue his research, moving on to testing in mice models and ultimately to human clinical trials but needed additional financial support and was in the process of applying for a Komen national grant that would further his research. A part of the stipulation of the Komen grant was that his research would have to have a Patient Advocate Mentor on his team and asked me if I was interested in taking on this role, as I have been very active in the Triple Negative Breast Cancer community. Without hesitation I asked, "where do I sign?" I was so honored to be asked to be a part of his research team and immediately started working on my bio-sketch of my involvement in breast cancer events, awareness, conferences, volunteering, fundraising and public speaking over the years since my diagnosis in 2009. In September 2017, Dr. Tiwari submitted his grant application along with his 120+ pages of his research proposal that included my bio-sketch for review to Komen National Headquarters and then we wait for the response...
In the meantime, Dr. Tiwari and I have met several times discussing his research, my role as his Patient Advocate Mentor and introduced to me members of his research team at The University of Toledo Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and gave me a tour of his research lab. Also, I had the opportunity to view live Triple Negative Breast Cancer cells under the microscope that appeared to be forming clusters.
Almost a year later in September 2018, Dr. Tiwari notified me that he was awarded nearly $450,00.00 to continue his research on Drug Resistance in Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer... and had recently discovered a molecule that reverses the drug resistance and making it more responsive to treatment. I am just ecstatic that there is a potential cure for Triple Negative Breast Cancer and that this research is happening in my own back yard so to speak! I have been longing for TNBC research in Toledo ever since I was diagnosed and no effective targeted therapy has been yet to be discovered. I want to commit myself to this project and be involved in as much as possible to expand my understanding of how this research progresses and continue to learn as much as I can to better assist Dr. Tiwari, his team and our local breast cancer community.
Recently, I have attended a lab meeting learning about the different experiments that they are studying. Also, I sat in and observe an experiment on bone marrow cells performed by Dr. Diwakar Tukaramrao. My observation of the experiment was very interesting in seeing firsthand how testings are prepared and the amount of preparation is done before the actual testing is performed. I learned about how cells must be kept at 37℃ in freezers, refrigerators, incubators and be kept on ice when transporting. I learned that some cells are light sensitive and are stored in amber colored glass bottles, and the lights in the testing sterile area needs to be turned off during testing exposure. Also, I assisted in the lab with preparation by putting testing tubes in its multiple storage racks that were needed by another researcher, Mohammed.
I have always said my fight is not over until all my TNBC sisters are safe.
Stay tuned to my blog with updates of progress and my participation in this TNBC study. Truly, Melissa
