Vanessa, a travel nurse from Memphis, Tennessee, had her life meticulously planned—building her career across the country and saving for a home—when a stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis derailed everything. The most aggressive subtype of breast cancer, triple-negative, forced her to halt her ambitions and focus entirely on treatment. Even as a nurse, she found herself in uncharted territory. “I’ve taken care of patients my whole life,” she says, “but I didn’t really know what breast cancer truly entailed.”
After initial treatment, the cancer spread, leading to a metastatic triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis. “When I found out I had metastatic breast cancer, it was just an awful feeling to know you have to go through treatment again,” she recalls. This scenario is all too common: triple-negative breast cancer tends to grow and spread faster than other types, and for about half of women with metastatic disease, the first treatment may be the only chance to keep the cancer from growing. Thus, choosing the right option from day one is critical.
Triple-negative breast cancer also disproportionately affects younger women and has higher incidence rates in Black and Hispanic women. For these communities, access to the latest education is not just helpful—it’s a matter of survival. Historically, treatment options for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer were limited to chemotherapy, which impacts cancer cells more than normal cells. However, a newer class of medicine called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) is changing the landscape.
ADCs are designed to find specific markers and deliver medicines directly to cancer cells, unlike traditional chemotherapy. Until recently, ADCs were used later in treatment, but now patients may receive an ADC as their first treatment after a metastatic diagnosis. Innovations like ADCs have already made a difference for many by helping to keep cancer from growing. For Vanessa, this means being able to plan ahead—whether it’s a girls’ trip or time with family—knowing that treatment can fit into her life.
However, not all ADCs are the same; safety and efficacy can vary. “When selecting treatment, it’s important to consider patients’ goals, wishes and needs so that we can try to realistically plan around those,” says Dr. Gregory Vidal, MD, PhD, Director of Clinical Research at West Cancer Center and Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. “All patients are different and may qualify for different ADCs.” He encourages patients to have open conversations with their care team and ask questions about treatment goals.
For many living with metastatic breast cancer, treatment is ongoing, with the goal of managing disease and slowing progression while maintaining quality of life. Vanessa leaned on friends and family to keep “faith over fear” by focusing on positives and planning outings around her treatments. She urges others to stay positive, ask questions, and advocate for themselves. “You definitely have a fight in front of you, but you can get through this,” she says. “You have to do your research and get answers.”
To see how Vanessa and others navigate ADC treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, visit Expose-MBC.com/ADC.
