Cancer is a heavy diagnosis at any age, but a local woman who received news that she had aggressive triple-negative breast cancer just one month after her 30th birthday shared how it turned her life upside down.

The story included an interview with Kari Wisinski, MD, associate professor (CHS), Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care. 

Madison resident Amanda Poetzl shared how the diagnosis upended her life and forced her to put immediate plans on hold so that she could undergo treatment. 

Dr. Wisinski explained how researchers at UW-Madison are pursuing research new targeted treatment strategies to give additional options for patients like Poetzl.

For example, UW researchers are focusing on a protein that changes location in triple-negative cancer cells so that it can be used as a means of guiding drugs to tumor cells.

"If we move it back out where it's supposed to be on the cell, we could potentially target it better with those medicines," said Dr. Wisinkski.

Resources:

• "Local woman shares story of triple negative cancer diagnosis," WISC-TV, October 31, 2017