“I Wasn’t Going to Let It Define Me” — Cyndi’s Journey Through Breast Cancer and a Life-Changing Clinical Trial
On a Sunday night in June 2019, Cyndi was getting ready for bed when she felt something unusual – what seemed like a small bead near the bottom of her left breast. She didn’t wait. The next morning, she called her doctor.
Within a matter of weeks, Cyndi, then just 32 years old and a mother of two young children, was diagnosed with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Known as luminal breast cancer, the diagnosis is often aggressive with a higher-than-normal likelihood of recurrence.
“My first thought was, I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old,” she recalled. “I couldn’t break down. I had to fight for them.”
Her treatment at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s (TMH) Cancer Center was swift and aggressive: a double mastectomy, chemotherapy including the powerful Adriamycin and endocrine therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Cyndi never let it stop her – she attended her kids’ activities and kept working through most of her treatments.
Through genetic testing at TMH, Cyndi learned she carried the BRCA2 gene mutation, which means she’s predisposed to a higher risk for both breast and ovarian cancers. Because of the increased cancer risk, she underwent surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes. She’s grateful to know this now – so her children can be tested in the future and take steps to protect their own health.
The endocrine therapy medication that followed her chemotherapy – Anastrozole – caused intense bone pain that slowly began to wear on her. She also experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
An Innovative Endocrine Therapy Trial Available at TMH
This pain led Cyndi to seek alternative options for endocrine therapy.
Her medical oncologist, Jeannine Silberman, MD, of TMH Physician Partners – Cancer & Hematology connected her with Tallahassee Memorial’s research team who spoke with her about a clinical trial at TMH for a promising drug called Cambria-1.
“When Dr. Silberman told me about the trial, I didn’t hesitate,” said Cyndi. “If it could help me and help other women in the future, I was all in.”
During the trial, Cyndi worked with Karen Russell, MD, a medical oncologist with TMH Physician Partners – Cancer & Hematology and Director of Research at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center.
Dr. Russell emphasized the importance of access to clinical trials within the communities where patients live and work, allowing them to stay close to their families, homes and support systems.
“Community-based research is the key to making a difference in medicine now,” she said. “It used to be that if you wanted to be in a research study, you needed to go to a large academic center. That greatly limited participation to those who had money and means.”
Within a week of joining the trial for Cambria-1, Cyndi’s pain began to fade.
“It was night and day,” she said. “The bone pain that had been dragging me down was just gone.”
Cyndi now sees her TMH clinical research coordinator, Wendy Drew, regularly and undergoes routine monitoring to ensure the treatment is working safely.
“Wendy has been amazing,” Cyndi said. “I can text her anytime with questions, and she always responds right away. I feel taken care of, completely.”
While Cyndi didn’t know TMH offered clinical trials before, she’s now a passionate advocate for them.
“This has been such a blessing. If this drug helps others avoid the pain I went through, then I’m proud to be part of it.”
Dr. Russell explained that trials like Cambria-1 offer new hope in the form of more effective and better-tolerated treatments. “Cambria is a large pharmaceutical study we’ve brought to patients locally to see if a drug class previously used for women who already had a recurrence can help prevent recurrence when used earlier,” she said. “And many of these women want to be part of research — they want to make a difference.”
A Voice of Strength and Survival
Throughout her journey, Cyndi’s family has been her anchor. Her husband, Cameron sat with her through nearly every chemo session, even taking off work to be there.
“We joked that Thursdays were our ‘date days’—breakfast and chemo. It brought us closer than ever,” she said.
Their children were too young to understand the full weight of what was happening, and that was exactly how Cyndi wanted it.
“I didn’t want them to feel like their mom was sick. I still showed up to every ball game, every practice. Cancer wasn’t going to control our lives.”
She also credits her extended family—both hers and her husband’s—for stepping in, helping with meals, watching the kids, and being a constant source of love and support.
“This experience made us all closer,” she said. “It strengthened my marriage, deepened our faith, and reminded us what really matters.”
Now several years into remission and enrolled in the Cambria-1 trial, Cyndi’s hope is simple: that her story helps someone else. Whether it’s encouraging a young woman to check for early signs of breast cancer or giving someone the courage to ask about clinical trial options, she wants to be a voice of strength and survival.
“There’s a reason for everything,” she said. “Maybe my reason is to help someone else face this with courage. To show that you can get through it, and you don’t have to go it alone.”
Advancing Care Through Clinical Research at TMH
Through partnerships and ongoing studies, TMH brings cutting-edge cancer therapies – like the Cambria-1 trial – to patients in our community and throughout the Big Bend region.
These trials offer hope and relief from side effects, and the potential for longer, healthier lives – they also connect our community to the latest medical and pharmaceutical advancements.
Dr. Russell underscores the importance of access to these trials for local patients and the significance it plays on a larger scale.
“All current medical breakthroughs that save lives exist because people were brave to be part of clinical trials before them,” she said. “The cure for cancer is research.”
Learn more about research and clinical trials happening at TMH
