[Susanna] Hi, welcome to The Cancer SIGNAL, a podcast presented by GRAIL, where we share the stories behind multi-cancer early detection testing. I’m your host, Susanna Quinn. Today, we are welcoming Jack, who will be sharing his experience with multi-cancer early detection testing and his cancer journey. Welcome to The Cancer SIGNAL, Jack.

[Jack] Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Susanna] Absolutely. To get started, could you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live, and what do you do?

[Jack] Well, I live in Elkhart, Indiana. I have been in the plastics industry for pretty much my whole life. But I did sell my company back in, of all times, 2020 – during COVID, which was a little bit unusual. And I stayed on for the acquirer, until the end of ’24. And I was in a consulting role, so I’ve officially been retired, I guess, for about a year and quarter. So I’m adjusting to that right now. You know, I like to enjoy spending time with, obviously my family, and they’re all over the place.

[Susanna] Congratulations, Jack, on a successful exit. That is a real accomplishment. Tell me, Jack, do you have a family history of cancer?

[Jack] No, I do not.

[Susanna] Do you have any known cancer risk factors besides being over 50 years old? Do you have any other known cancer risk factors?

[Jack] No, I do not and did not at the time when I was diagnosed.

[Susanna] Do you follow the guideline recommended screenings your doctor suggests? For example, do you have colonoscopies?

[Jack] Yes, I do. And also have regular dermatology appointments, you know, for looking for skin problems. So, but I have done – I’ve had a concierge doc for about 7 years, I believe. So I feel that I have excellent health care and screenings, so.

[Susanna] So you were symptom-free, but you decided to look into multi-cancer early detection testing. I assume you heard about it from your concierge doctor. What made you decide to take the test?

[Jack] Well, it was just one of my typical semiannual appointments with him. You know, near the end, he said, “Hey, there’s a new test available that’s called Galleri, and it can detect…” I believe he said up to 50 types of cancer with a simple blood screening. And I – you know, for some reason, I said, “Heck, I’d like to have it.” And so I – that’s why I did it. It was just kind of one more thing to do from a screening perspective. Even though it was such a new technology that he was offering, I was, you know – it just got my interest.

[Susanna] Very smart. Well, I understand your testing experience was a little different than some of the stories we’ve shared on this podcast, because you took the test twice. Tell us what happened when you first took the MCED test.

[Jack] Yeah, the first test was, I believe it was December of ’22. And my doctor said, “Hey, do you want me to call you with these results, whether they’re good or bad? Or, how do you want me to handle this?” And I said, “Hey, whenever you get the results, just give me a call and let me know.” And about 2 ½ weeks later, I was home. My wife was traveling somewhere. But, you know, he said, “Hey, we’ve got – you know, a signal has been detected.” And I said, “Well, what does that mean?” He said, “Well, you likely have, you know, some type of cancer.” I said, “Well, where?” And he said, “Well, the signal is coming up, showing somewhere between your chest and your head.” And, you know, obviously, I was in shock and, you know, very worried about it. And actually, I was heading out west the next day for a couple of weeks. So I knew I couldn’t really see anybody or do anything. We talked about it for a bit, and when I got back, I went in to see him. And he had set up appointments with, you know, an ENT and a number of doctors to start doing some testing. And, you know, over the course of the next – I’m going to say 2 to 3 months, I had CAT scans and MRIs and had an ear/nose/throat exam, and they scoped my throat, and there was just nothing that came up. And we were frustrated. My wife is the only one that knew about it. And, so in the end, I guess we kind of threw our hands up and said, “Hey, let’s wait, and retake this test 6 months after the first test.”

[Susanna] So, tell me about your wife. I know it was a really stressful situation to have no symptoms, and then to share this with her, and to not really talk to anybody else about it.

[Jack] Well, you know, we both were reassured by, you know, our doctor. She also had the test, but hers came back, you know, with no signal. But he assured me, and all the other doctors that I was talking to, going, you know, when we were trying to find what the signal was, that, “Hey, you know, this is extremely early. Wherever this is, and whatever it is, the good news is that we’re getting on this early, and there’s likely going to be treatment. It’s going to be treatable.” So. You know, I really had a lot of trust in that – that, you know, it wasn’t going to be stage 4 or something like that. It was going to be some – ’cause if it was something that was obvious, they would have found it. But, you know, the reason we didn’t tell anybody is because we really didn’t have anything to say, other than “I had a positive signal come back on this test.” And, you know, you’d tell someone that, and “So, what does that mean?” “Well, I guess we really don’t know yet.” So, it was really just a waiting – so I waited until July of ’23 to retake the test.

VoiceOver 
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.

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.