MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022 - 1

LETTER FROM MAIMAH KARMO Conversation
MY LIFE MATTERS
W
MAIMAH KARMO, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF THE TIGERLILY FOUNDATION
hen I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast
cancer (TNBC), I felt alone and I was scared-
it was the fight of my life that changed me as a
person from that moment forward.
It was that feeling of being scared, alone, and
of not having targeted treatments for a disease that could come
back at any time. Seeing so many of my metastatic friends go
through unimaginably difficult treatments and the many friends
who have lost their life to TNBC, I have spent the last 16 years
working to change this outcome. I am proud to share this fourth
issue of MY LIFE MATTERS Magazine with our partners Elephants
and Tea. This topic is incredibly personal to me, and we
are excited to be highlighting so many of the ANGEL Advocates
living with and living through TNBC.
I have witnessed how TNBC can be more aggressive. It grows
and spreads faster, it has fewer treatment options, and can have
a worse prognosis (outcome), especially for Patients of Color.
When I was diagnosed, I did not see anyone who looked like
me. There was no community or advocates that were similar in
age, I did not see advocates that were Black or Brown, and no
Patients of Color that I could connect with. Creating Tigerlily
Foundation is my way of supporting all patients after me so they
will not feel alone and scared. I dreamed of a future when TNBC
and breast cancer would become curable diseases with many targeted
treatments designed for Patients of Color and patients of
all backgrounds. In this dream, treatments are easily accessible,
with no barriers to lifesaving cancer treatments.
For many patients, TNBC is simply too aggressive a cancer.
Unfortunately, there are too many lives that have been lost to
this disease. When I was diagnosed 16 years ago there were no
targeted treatments for TNBC. I have lost far too many friends
and people I loved and admired to TNBC. I think of all the
patients going through cancer treatments for TNBC, all the patients
who are metastatic, and what a difference advanced and
targeted treatments can make.
Over the past few years, we are starting to see targeted
treatments come to market and very promising research in
the works. Researchers are working on a first-of-its-kind
vaccine to prevent triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) from
developing. This year at the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, we learned of exciting
trial data and groundbreaking research that could extend
the lives of patients diagnosed with TNBC, and in this issue,
you'll meet women living with this diagnosis. l
MY LIFE MATTERS
TNBC PATIENT VOICES ISSUE 2022
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MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022
