Susanna 00:00
Welcome to The Cancer SIGNAL, a podcast presented by GRAIL where we discuss topics relating to early cancer detection, including multi-cancer early detection testing, cancer genomics and risk, barriers to cancer screening, and much more. I am your host, Susanna Quinn. Today our guests, Rich and Staci, will be sharing their experience with multi-cancer early detection testing and their cancer journey. Welcome to The Cancer SIGNAL, Rich and Staci.

Staci 00:28
Thank you.

Rich 00:29
Thank you very much.

Susanna 00:31
Let’s begin by getting to know you a little bit. Could you tell us a bit more about yourselves, where you live and what you do?

Rich 00:39
Certainly, we are Rich and Staci. We live in New Jersey with our two kids and two dogs, and we’ve been in New Jersey pretty much all our lives. I recently retired from the practice of dentistry. I was a dentist for over 30 years, and I’m now retired, and Staci is a practicing attorney in special education.

Susanna 01:03
Great, interesting. I wish you hadn’t retired, because I need a good dentist. Do either of you have a
family history of cancer? Do you have any known cancer risk factors?

Staci 01:15
So, on my side of the family, my mother actually passed away from lung cancer. She was also diagnosed with breast cancer probably 20 years before she was diagnosed with lung cancer. My father, who’s now in his 80s, was diagnosed with kidney cancer about four years ago. So yes, I’ve got cancer on both sides of both sides of my family

Susanna 01:36
I’m so sorry to hear that. Go ahead. [Staci: Thank you.]

Rich 01:41
That’s okay. On my side, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer later on in life. He was treated for it, and when he passed away, it was from something completely different. So he lived with prostate cancer. Aside from that, I think my only other risk factor is basically my age, being over the age of 50.

Susanna 02:05
Yeah, age is one of the greatest risk factors for cancer. Do you participate in your guideline recommended screenings your doctor suggests, such as colonoscopies, mammograms, etc.

Rich 02:19
Absolutely. I see my doctor faithfully at least twice a year. I have blood screenings done for PSA, since my dad suffered from prostate cancer, we keep a close watch on that. I also have my regular colonoscopies done and whatever else he, you know, we discuss that I should do.

Staci 02:44
Yeah, and certainly on my side, you know, annual mammograms. I also get breast MRI. I do that between the MRI and the MR- excuse me, between the MRI and the mammogram every six months. Plus colonoscopies, I actually get one every five years, because I’m at higher risk, they’ve found polyps in the past, and we keep on top of anything that our doctor suggests that we do in terms of early screening.

Susanna 03:14
Very wise. You have a strong history of cancer in your family, and I’m so sorry for that. It sounds like you really do stay on top of testing. You were both healthy and symptom free, but you decided to look into multi-cancer early detection testing. How did you learn about it?

Rich 03:30
I originally learned about it from my brother-in-law. He and I share a doctor. So he had gone a couple of months before me for his regular checkup, and had discussed multi-cancer early detection testing with Dr. Thomas, and it sounded like a good idea to me, especially since it was just a blood test. So when I went in for my routine physical, Dr. Thomas and I discussed it, and we thought that it would be a good idea that I go ahead and have the blood test.

Susanna 04:04
Absolutely and when was this test?

Rich 04:09
This was back in December of ‘21, so almost three years ago.

Susanna 04:14
So tell us about your testing experience. How long did it take to get your results, and what were those results?

Rich 04:20
My results took about a week, and I got a phone call from Dr. Thomas with a Cancer Signal Detected. It was, you know, a shock, to say the least. And then we did some, we talked about that for a little bit. So there was still some hope that it was a false positive result. So we had to do some more testing from there.

Staci 04:48
Rich and I go for our annual physicals at about the same time. So when he spoke to Dr. Thomas, Dr. Thomas is also my doctor, as a matter of fact, my sister and brother-in-law and Rich and I all share the same doctor. And so he had his test, and about the same time I had my test. And in fact, I think my test results came in before his and mine were negative, and very much you know in line that there was no Cancer Signal Detected when I got my results.

Susanna 05:14
Staci, were you surprised when there was no Cancer Signal Detected?

Staci 05:17
I wasn’t surprised necessarily that mine was negative or that there was no Cancer Signal Detected, but I was floored when Richard’s came back as having a Cancer Signal, because I thought that if anyone was going to get cancer, it was going to be me and not him. We really didn’t have too much concern about him, because, you know, the history of cancer is much, much greater on my side of the family than it is on his. So I think that we were both very taken aback.

Susanna 05:47
I’m sure you were taken aback. And Rich, your test returned a Cancer Signal Detected result with a cancer signal origin of lung. What were your first thoughts when you learned this?

Rich 06:01
It made no sense. You know, I’ve never been a smoker. Never been around things that I would consider detrimental to my lungs. When I was very young, my parents smoked, but then they both quit as well, so secondhand smoke wasn’t really a concern either. So yeah, I was completely taken aback that it was lung of all things.

Susanna 06:32
Yeah. What were your next steps? Rich, what diagnostic tests did you go through to determine a diagnosis?

Rich 06:48
Yeah, so almost immediately, Dr. Thomas ordered a CAT scan of my chest, and I went, I think it was either that day or the next day. I went for the CAT scan, and the results were read immediately, and the results were that there was a mass on my right middle lobe of my right lung. So that really brought things into perspective. You know, was, it was real at that point, and it was very scary. [Susanna: Absolutely terrifying.] Yeah. So the next thing was to do a biopsy. So through a bronchoscopy, they went in and they sampled several different areas and came back with a definite diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the right lung.

Susanna 07:43
I’m so sorry. So tell us what your treatment plan was.

Rich 07:49
The treatment plan initially was to do chemotherapy. And the surgeon that I saw to talk about potential surgery options was not really optimistic about surgery at that point. He thought that I had too much lung tissue that would need to be removed, so he referred me to a radiation oncologist, and we talked about doing chemotherapy and radiation. I wasn’t, I really wasn’t on board with that, I wanted a second opinion. So I saw another surgeon, and this surgeon was pretty optimistic that he could go ahead and remove just the middle lobe of my right lung through a procedure known as VATS, or a video assisted thoracic surgery, and that he would not have to do an open surgery, which was very appealing to me at the time. So that’s what I went ahead and did. So we had the chemotherapy, then we had the surgery, and the surgery went very well. It went as expected from by the surgeon, which was great.

Susanna 9:09
I’m so happy to hear that, and I’m so glad that you were able to go and get a second opinion. [Rich: Yeah.] What is your current health status?

Rich 09:20
Right now– I got a knock on something– right now, it’s pretty good. You know, my doctors are watching me very closely. I have regular CT scans and occasionally have a PET scan done. And so far, I am cancer free.

Staci 09:44
Richard’s oncologist also did testing, genetic testing, and he was found to be positive. The EGFR mutation, and because of that, he was a candidate for a targeted drug. So after the chemotherapy and after the surgery, he actually went on a targeted drug to help, you know, treat the cancer.

Rich 10:11
And I did that for two years.

Susanna 10:13
I had stage four ovarian cancer and. [Rich: Oh my goodness, I’m sorry.] Yeah, thank you so much. And did genetic testing and discovered that I have the BRCA gene. And so I also did targeted therapy, which really does increase the chances of recurring so right? While it might be upsetting to learn that you have a genetic predisposition to cancer, it actually ends up serving some people well in the end, because it’s easier to understand the root cause and the treatment. [Rich: Sure.] Do you feel that catching this cancer before you had any symptoms, had an impact on how things turned out? And what did your doctor say about this?

Rich 10:58
Yeah, oh my goodness. I can’t, I can’t imagine, well, I guess I can imagine if we hadn’t done anything, if we hadn’t done any multi-cancer early detection testing, that I would have never known until I had some sort of symptoms, and at that point, it’s really hard to say, maybe there wouldn’t have been anything that could have been done at that point. So it made a tremendous difference, tremendous.

Staci 11:31
My mother, who passed away from lung cancer by the time she had symptoms, she passed away 90 days after she was diagnosed. Because, you know, lung cancer is one of those cancers where it, the symptoms don’t come on until it’s too late. So the multi-cancer early detection test, I believe, really had a significant impact on our ability to treat his cancer.

Rich 12:00
Yeah, without a doubt.

Susanna 12:03
Terrific. Yeah, my cancer, ovarian cancer, they call the silent killer, because you really don’t have symptoms until it’s at late stage.

Staci 12:16
Absolutely, and that’s why we have, you know, made multi-cancer early detection testing an annual part of our, you know, physical with our doctor. It’s painless, it’s relatively inexpensive, and, you know, it can really have a significant impact on your quality of life and your ability to treat cancers at an early stage.

Susanna 12:39
Beautifully spoken, Staci and thank you both so much for using what is a harrowing and scary experience as a platform to educate people about multi-cancer early detection testing. I’m so appreciative, and everybody should be so appreciative.

Rich 12:55
Yeah, it’s our pleasure to do so.

Susanna 12:58
So Rich and Staci, tell us a little bit about what you’ve learned from this experience, from the cancer experience.

Rich 13:08
What I’ve learned is the, how good it is to be proactive. Before I took the multi-cancer early detection test, I really didn’t think about cancer. You know, it wasn’t until this test came about that we started to talk about it and thought what a good idea it would be. But what, I mean, it worked out beautifully that I was able to have this test done. So the idea of being proactive, in my mind, is what I’ve learned the most, and I will continue to be diligent and staying on top of things.

Staci 14:01
And I think, you know, as a family, the whole experience, I think, has made us live more in the present, because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring and what you know how things are going to progress. So I think that we’ve some of the things that we might have put off in the past, like a vacation or doing things together. We’re not putting off anymore. We’re doing it now because you don’t know.

Susanna 14:27
Absolutely, I say to people, sometimes I wake up every day and think today could be the best day of my life, because tomorrow I could have a recurrence. [Rich: Yeah] So I love that, and I hope you do take amazing vacations, and I hope you spend a lot of time with your family. How many kids do you have?

Rich 14:47
Two, we have a boy and a girl.

Staci 14:50
Yeah, they’re, they’re, they’re grown. We have a 24 year old and a 25 year old.

Staci 14:55
And what, are they local?

Staci 14:57
Oh, yes. We have a lot of family around us. You know, my sisters are close, his sister is close. So we have a lot of support. We do a lot of things with our family, a lot of cousins, and so it’s, it’s a very close family.

Susanna 15:14
Well, it sounds like you’re going to have a lot to celebrate over the holidays. Thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your story.

Rich 15:24
Oh, you’re welcome. [Staci: Thank you.] Thank you.

Susanna 15:28
Listeners, be sure to visit GRAIL’s YouTube channel to see Rich and Staci’s story there too. We will link it in the show notes for this episode. This is The Cancer SIGNAL presented by GRAIL. And I’m your host, Susanna Quinn. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode, and we will see you next month.

Voiceover 15:48
Based on a clinical study of people ages 50 to 79 around 1% are expected to receive a Cancer Signal Detected result, which includes predicted cancer signal origins. After diagnostic evaluation, around 40% of people are expected to have a confirmed cancer diagnosis.

The Galleri test is prescription only. The Galleri test is recommended for use in adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those age 50 or older. It is not recommended for individuals who are pregnant, 21 years or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment. Galleri should be used in addition to routine cancer screening. Galleri does not detect a signal for all cancers. False positive and false negative results do occur.

For more information, including Important Safety Information, please visit Galleri.com.

The overall sensitivity in study participants with lung cancer was 74.8% (21.9% for stage I, 79.5% stage II, 90.7% stage III, 95.2% stage IV).

Important Safety Information
The Galleri test is recommended for use in adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those aged 50 or older. The Galleri test does not detect all cancers and should be used in addition to routine cancer screening tests recommended by a healthcare provider. Galleri is intended to detect cancer signals and predict where in the body the cancer signal is located. Use of Galleri is not recommended in individuals who are pregnant, 21 years old or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment. Results should be interpreted by a healthcare provider in the context of medical history, clinical signs and symptoms. A test result of “No Cancer Signal Detected” does not rule out cancer. A test result of “Cancer Signal Detected” requires confirmatory diagnostic evaluation by medically established procedures (e.g. imaging) to confirm cancer.

If cancer is not confirmed with further testing, it could mean that cancer is not present or testing was insufficient to detect cancer, including due to the cancer being located in a different part of the body. False-positive (a cancer signal detected when cancer is not present) and false-negative (a cancer signal not detected when cancer is present) test results do occur. Rx only.

Laboratory/Test Information
The GRAIL clinical laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and accredited by the College of American Pathologists. The Galleri test was developed and its performance characteristics were determined by GRAIL. The Galleri test has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The GRAIL clinical laboratory is regulated under CLIA to perform high-complexity testing. The Galleri test is intended for clinical purposes.