Creating More Survivors With Local Cancer Research | NBC 4i

As we near the end of breast cancer awareness month, we are taking a look at some of the progress taking place right in our backyard.

COLUMBUS, Ohio --

As we near the end of breast cancer awareness month, we are taking a look at some of the progress taking place right in our backyard. From research, to clinical trials, to new therapies, more and more people are surviving because of the work being done at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center ? Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.

NBC4's Robyn Haines shares one woman's story, as she does her part to make a difference.

High school physical education teacher Jodi Brown is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 2009 at just 32-years-old.

She had chemo, radiation, and surgery to get rid of the disease but she wanted to do more. Her treatment all started with Doctor Ramaswamy at The James.??

"This is what motivates me in the whole cancer world, she sat down, grabbed my hand and she goes you have breast cancer and you're going to be a survivor one day and you can help somebody out," said Jodi.

So this year, cancer free and thriving, Jodi created her own 5k to raise money for the Stefanie Spielman fund, $23,000 to help researchers, like her own doctor, create options for future generations.

Right now, Doctor Ramaswamy is working on a possible new therapy for Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. Tamoxifen is a pill that has long been used to treat cancer that depends on estrogen to grow.

"What is novel about what we have done is a very unique pathway, called hedgehog pathway, cells that are resistant to Tamoxifen, breast cancer cells, this pathway is very highly activated,? said Dr. Ramaswamy.

So they are now pushing toward a clinical trial for an "anti-hedgehog" pill -- a way to stop the cancer cells from becoming resistant to the drug. Researchers are also working on new ways to combat triple negative breast cancer, rare and aggressive, with very few treatment options.

"We are looking at the same hedgehog compound and we've found some very interesting data there as well as far as triple negative as a target,"?said Dr. Ramaswamy.???

They're also looking into PARP inhibitors to treat triple negative, which focuses on DNA repair in the diseased cells.

The doctor goes on to say that the problem with finding a cure for cancer is that a cancer cell is not constant, and never will be.

So every time we get closer, the cell changes and finds a way to get around our treatments.

Experts and survivors say a large problem that needs to be addressed is getting better at prevention, finding out why we get cancer in the first place.

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Source: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/oct/29/creating-more-survivors-local-cancer-research-ar-1220638/

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