MEET MIKA
Five years ago, 35-year-old Mika was coaching students on how to succeed in college and planning a trip out west. Then, almost by accident, she noticed a lump in one of her breasts.
Mika had no history of cancer in her family. Still, her primary care doctor described it as a “significant lump” and ordered a mammogram and biopsy to be safe. Those tests revealed a clear diagnosis: Mika had stage 3 breast cancer that was very serious, and she needed to start treatment right away. She remembers her doctor saying,
“You’re not going on the trip you were planning.”
Mika had the most common type of breast cancer, estrogen positive, which uses the hormone estrogen as fuel to grow. Additional genetic testing revealed Mika had a genetic mutation, PALB2, which meant she was predisposed to developing breast cancer.
Like the better-known mutations BRCA 1 or BRCA 2, it meant one of her parents had the mutation. This prompted the need for cascade testing – genetic assessments of others in her family
Mika with her mother and father.
Testing revealed that Mika’s mother had the PALB2 gene, prompting closer monitoring of her health. Last year, Mika’s mother was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Her prognosis is excellent!
Following Mika’s diagnosis, she began chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before surgery. After five rounds of chemo, she had a serious negative reaction that required 10 days of intensive care – and an end to chemo. Fortunately, her tumor shrunk enough that surgery could proceed. She had a double mastectomy and some lymph nodes removed. As a further precaution, she will eventually have a hysterectomy.
“The journey is not over, but right now I’m in a good place.”
Until her illness, Mika had little knowledge of the work done at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research.
That changed when Mika began looking for a new job. She found one handling social media and digital communications for the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her job includes telling the story of research at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center.
“The stars aligned. It was the perfect job at the perfect moment.”
Now, five years after postponing her trip west, she’s looking in a new direction. A trip of a lifetime to London, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark will soon be underway!
Research at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research is helping patients like Mika. Her cancer treatment, along with other patients, are more personalized today than in years past due to the Foundation’s support of Monogrammed Medicine.
Tarah Ballinger, MD, and Nawal Kassem, MD, are conducting research on ways to improve rates of cascade testing.
Mika’s treatment included therapy to reduce the estrogen that fed her cancer. Dr. Ballinger is studying ways to reduce long-term side effects of that therapy. Other Foundation-supported research includes methods to lower the risk of triple negative breast cancer recurrence in patients with the BRCA mutation using the drug Olaparib. It’s currently unclear whether this drug could affect PALB2 and other mutations.