It’s wedding day. A father with colorectal cancer walks his daughter down the aisle. His oncologist, Rona Yaeger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, helps him mark this milestone.

Currently, patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancers face a poor prognosis. Dr. Yaeger and her team work to develop targeted combination therapies to treat patients with this molecular alteration in their tumors. A Conquer Cancer grant connected Dr. Yaeger with the resources needed to address this difficult-to-treat disease and help patients heal.

“Donor support allows us to better understand how colon cancers work and identify potential vulnerabilities for treatment,” explains Dr. Yaeger.

The treatments she works to develop target tumors with BRAF mutation, which occurs when an altered BRAF gene causes cancerous cell growth. Patients with this alteration tend to be older. But with research comes hope.

Image

“What’s exciting is that in the past few years, targeting these tumors has gone from a scientific idea to a new therapy that is now being considered by the FDA,” explains Dr. Yaeger. “A large, randomized clinical trial showed that patients who received targeted therapy lived longer.”

Dr. Yaeger’s research is contributing to novel treatments for patients with this subtype of colorectal cancer, helping more people reach once-in-a-lifetime moments.

“My patient who was able to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day shared with me how proud he was that he was feeling good and able to dance with his daughter,” reflects Dr. Yaeger.

Though her patient died from progression of disease, his memory inspires Dr. Yaeger’s devotion to finding cures for cancer.

“His spouse sent me wedding photos and shared what a difference this treatment has made to his family,” says Dr. Yaeger. “Those milestones remind us that getting someone to feel better, to get their symptoms under control, makes a difference.”