Client Story
How PHM helped Emma optimize treatment for recurrence prevention and side effect management.
Emma*, a 38-year-old woman with a history of cancer in her family, discovered that she carried an inherited mutation in the BRCA2 gene, which put her at an increased risk of developing breast cancer. This prompted her to get a screening mammogram that found a tumor, and she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. She turned to PHM to help navigate the important decisions involved in choosing a treatment course.
Given the BRCA2 mutation and multiple areas of cancerous cells, a mastectomy provided Emma the best chance of preventing local recurrences and future breast cancers.
Emma was concerned about loss of sensation in the chest skin and tissue around the nipple, a major side effect of mastectomy, as a quality-of-life issue. But several surgical oncologists told Emma that large, randomized trials didn’t yet support a sensation-sparing mastectomy.
Emma’s PHM Personal Care Team evaluated available smaller studies, which suggested there was a good chance of at least partial return of sensation and minimal risk of recurrence.
Systemic treatment was recommended, but oncologists had differing opinions on the best path forward. The PHM research team extracted data from the scientific literature to create a personalized recurrence risk assessment for each therapy option.
With the information her PHM provided, Emma was able to confidently choose a treatment plan, including the sensation-sparing mastectomy.
The surgical team was able to spare the nerves for one breast and successfully graft tissue for the other. Two months later, Emma noted that sensation was already returning.She followed her surgery with a systemic treatment plan of less intense chemotherapy and hormone therapy. This path carefully balanced the risk of long-term side effects and recurrence risk. Emma continues to do well and said she is “completely comfortable and at peace” with her treatment choice.
“When you are given a diagnosis like cancer there is a lot you have to learn very quickly. Having my PHM team’s expert guidance to separate fact from fiction, determine which treatments are outdated and which are current best practices, and help select the best doctors for me was invaluable. Their support made a very scary, confusing process much less stressful.”
To learn more about breast cancer from PHM experts, watch our on-demand webinar about the latest, including risk factors, screening tools, and treatments. You can also download our information guide.
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