July 2007, Volume 4 Issue 3

Standing on the shoulders of those who came before

Clinical research participant and AWARE for All-Boston(AFA) panelist Barbara Holtz described her successful treatment for breast cancer with the then-experimental drug, Herceptin, at AFA-Boston in June. Below is Holtz’s story.

Editor. Teacher. Marketing professional. Barbara Holtz has had a varied career. Perhaps her most meaningful “job” was as a clinical research participant. Diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in 2001, Holtz underwent a lumpectomy and axillary node dissection and entered the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for treatment soon after. At their very first meeting, her oncologists suggested she consider enrolling in a clinical trial of the drug Herceptin. “Up to that point, Herceptin had been widely used to treat metastatic breast cancer,” Holtz recalls. “This important, national trial was to test whether Herceptin could be effective and non-toxic to early-stage patients and possibly prevent their cancers from progressing.”

Eager to launch an all-out attack on her disease, Holtz took a “leap of faith” and agreed to participate. It was not an easy choice. Family members tried to dissuade her, arguing that she’d be better off staying with “the tried and true” treatment. But Holtz felt otherwise, and clung to her belief that clinical trial subjects contribute to the cause of scientific research – whether or not the experimental drug benefits them in the near term.

“I felt very threatened by this disease and I wanted to take aggressive steps to fight it,” she recalls. In addition, since the study was a Phase III clinical trial, Holtz knew the drug was “almost ready for prime time.” In the end, her decision turned out to be fortuitous because the regimen she received included both the standard and experimental treatments.

Now a Dana-Farber patient advocate and peer counselor, Holtz says having cancer was terrifying but participating in a clinical trial made her feel she was “doing something about it.” “I had complete faith that this was the right step,” she says. The intensive monitoring she received throughout her treatment also proved comforting as she battled various side effects.

Holtz’s unstinting support for clinical research was rewarded when the Herceptin trial was halted because the study results proved overwhelmingly positive and it was decided that eligible patients deserved to receive its benefits early in treatment. “Herceptin – also known as a targeted, biologic therapy – was shutting down a lot of the tumor proliferation so it was made widely available,” she explains.

Standing on “the shoulders of those who came before” gave Holtz the desire to be a shoulder for future generations to stand on. “I’m glad I did it. The whole thing was a positive experience for me,” she says. “My message to others would be, have an open mind to being a clinical trial subject. Learn all you can about the trial’s purpose and requirements and go for it!”

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