Coincidence? I Think Not.

As I’ve shared in the past, when I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, my doctor recommended I take a drug that had just been approved by the FDA, one he said was the most exciting new drug they’d seen for metastatic breast cancer in 20 years. He said it had shown such promise in clinical trials that it had been designated a breakthrough therapy and approved to fast-track through the FDA’s drug approval process. I remember being thankful such good treatment options were available for me.

But it wasn’t until a week ago, when I was asked to share my treatment story with an organization called Friends of Cancer Research, that I learned that the breakthrough therapy program is a recent creation. I had never even questioned it; it just made sense to me that we would have always had a pathway for very promising drugs to get approved quickly and out to the public who need them. However, as I discovered while preparing for a conference call with this organization, the breakthrough therapy program has only been around for five years.

In 2012, the “Advancing Breakthrough Therapies for Patients Act” in the Senate and the “Breakthrough Therapy Act” in the House were signed into law as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. Friends of Cancer Research was instrumental in this achievement and in October, I will be joining them to celebrate the 5^th anniversary of the law’s passing. I am thrilled to be part of this.  Without the breakthrough therapy program, Ibrance wouldn’t have been approved and available for me to take as my first-line treatment in 2015. It might very well still be in clinical trials.  

But what really struck me as I prepared for my conference call with the organization, when I read the history of the breakthrough therapy program, was the timing of everything. In fact, I was awestruck when I saw the timeline. It was 2011 when work began on what would eventually result in the breakthrough therapy law – the same year I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent my double mastectomy, and got eight rounds of chemo. While I did everything possible to get rid of the cancer, God knew it wouldn’t be enough.

So at the same time I was doing all I could to rid my body of this cancer, God was orchestrating a series of events that would provide the future treatment I would need when my cancer came back. In 2011, He began a process that would result in the creation of the breakthrough therapies law (passed in 2012). This law then enabled the drug I needed to be granted breakthrough status (in April 2013) and fast-tracked through to FDA approval. It received final approval and was released to patients in February 2015, only months ahead of my metastatic diagnosis in July. It has since been successfully keeping my cancer stable for the past 26 months.

And now I’ve been asked to share my treatment story as part of this five-year celebration. The thing is, Friends of Cancer Research didn’t know that the timing of my cancer perfectly coincided with the creation of the breakthrough therapies law. I didn’t even know it! They could have chosen someone from any number of 61 breakthrough drugs that have been approved by the FDA to date. Yet God allowed me to be part of this celebration to show me that He cares so much for me that He has been working behind the scenes, with congressmen, senators, FDA employees, and members of advocacy organizations to provide treatment for me and extend my life.

When I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, I read statistics online that said the average patient has a three-year prognosis. Now, with just one drug, I’ve survived over 2/3s of that time. And there are quite a few more drugs left to use once my body figures this one out and my cancer spreads. 

Seeing God’s care for me in this gives me confidence that He’s got a plan for whatever comes my way next. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Is. 41:10).