Breast Cancer Survivor Hopes to Improve the Science That Saved Her Life
“Investing in scientific research for metastatic breast cancer, for women after me, is one way to provide hope and greater quality of life.” — Laurie Hamilton
On a research boat in Antarctica, Laurie Hamilton stood facing the unknown.
The perspective at the South Pole is disorienting. The horizon warps the concept of distance. Shadows give nothing away. The silence penetrates. Wrapped in this strange new world for 27 days gave Laurie the courage she needed. She would do it. She would have the surgery.
Days before her trip, Laurie received a phone call from her doctors at Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute with devastating news from her mammogram results. She had advanced cancer—stage 3B. Doctors suggested immediate treatment.
Within two days after returning from Antarctica in December 2016, Laurie had the surgery—a simultaneous double mastectomy and double reconstruction. She spent months undergoing proton radiation therapy at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Throughout her treatments, she put her trust in Timothy Pluard, MD, who encouraged Laurie to receive genetic sequence testing to determine why the cancer was so aggressive. The test revealed she had an uncommon somatic genetic mutation. Only one FDA-approved drug had off-label use for that family of genes.
“Dr. Pluard said, ‘This is the latest today’s science has to offer,’” Laurie recalled. “It was interesting he used the word today’s science.”
With her commitment to research and finding more effective treatments for breast cancer, Laurie is taking part in multiple clinical
trials, lasting as many as 10 years. She believes in the power of science and technology to improve lives, which is why she recently decided to establish the Laurie J. Hamilton Advanced Breast Cancer Research Endowed Fund.
Research has identified many genomic mutations, but how these ultimately lead to cancer has not yet been established. Laurie hopes tomorrow’s science will provide these answers and improve the lives of women with advanced breast cancer. For the rest of her life, Laurie will continue to be focused on what she is leaving behind in the name of clinical research.
“Investing in scientific research for metastatic breast cancer, for women after me, is one way to provide hope and greater quality of life.”
While Laurie has had many blessings in life, she has gone through a lot to get here. She overcame an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in 1991 and, since then, has lost friends and both her parents. She spent many stressful years in school, including attending law school at age 59.
Laurie has given so much of herself to research and medicine and will continue to do so with regular donations to her endowed fund. She is an advocate for women investing in women.
“I don’t need more things, I’ve had lots of opportunities. I just want time.”