CHICAGO — A stunning breakthrough in treating metastatic breast cancer caught the attention of patients around the world. Early findings showed a new compound killed 95 to 100 percent of cancer cells in animals. But the promising new drug may have hit a snag on its road to human trials.

“It was hard to imagine that we had a drug that would take cancers and cause them to just disappear in a matter of days,” said biochemistry professor David Shapiro. That was his reaction when imaging came back showing that the drug ‘ErSO’ successfully targeted and killed metastatic breast cancer tumors in mice.

“All the tumors have been eradicated, they've been destroyed and they're no longer detectable,” he told us back in August.

The compound developed by a team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign worked in just days, without reoccurrence of cancerous tumors or any noticeable side-effects.

“We have been making these kinds of drugs for over a decade and none of them ever did anything remotely like that,” said Shapiro.

It was so promising that pharmaceutical giant Bayer bought the exclusive licensing rights to develop ErSO as a cancer therapy in partnership with Arizona-based Systems Oncology a year before the Illinois study was even published. It was a deal originally worth up to $370 million.

For metastatic breast cancer patients around the world, it was astounding.

“That is an amazing promise that they made in their study. That is unheard of. That has never happened in oncology history. Never,” said Anja Mullins, a metastatic breast cancer patient and ErSO activist.

Hundreds of people like Mullins formed an advocacy group on Facebook to follow the ErSO progress.

“I had heard of ERSO and was kind of like, ‘Wow, this sounds amazing,’” said Jeanine Dolan who also has metastatic breast cancer and is a member of the ErSO Activism for Breast Cancer group.

But in recent weeks, the partnership between Systems Oncology and Bayer suddenly dissolved.

“The fact that it was taken up by Bayer, that seemed promising. And then after 12 months to think, well, we’re at the end of the line, it was disappointing. Really disappointing,” said cancer patient and ErSO Activism administrator Danny Goss.

In a statement Bayer wrote in part: “Following a thorough assessment of ERSO in preclinical studies, Bayer has decided to discontinue development activities of this program for scientific reasons… we must take prudent steps to ensure the compounds have the potential to provide the therapeutic benefits we are striving to achieve for patients with cancer.”

For hopeful cancer patients around the world— like Racheal Williams, a mother who found out her breast cancer had metastasized early this year—the hope has turned to frustration.

“We deserve research. We deserve funding. We deserve to know what happened to ErSO. What happened to it? And if it is a viable option, bring it to clinical trials,” said Williams.

Systems oncology has not responded to our repeated requests for comment.

Meanwhile, an online petition pressing for clinical trials of ErSO has gotten more than 20,000 signatures.

“What scientific reasons do you have for stopping a study on something that was 95-100% effective within three days? And nobody can. No one tells us that,” said Dolan.

In the meantime, Professor Shapiro and his team continue to study ErSO. He says he hopes the development of this unique family of anti-cancer drugs will eventually result in a clinical trial. For now, ErSO’s next steps remain uncertain.

October will always have special meaning for me because it is the month I took action on some horrible news that ended up changing my life for the better.

I had something called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.

It was a very early form of breast cancer. Because of my history and my risk, I made the decision to have a mastectomy on my right side. In the words of friends, doctors built a better boob for me.

The surgery, which moved belly fat to the breast area, lasted about nine hours. The physical recovery took four weeks. But four years later, I still get emotional about Oct. 9. It is not just the day I took on cancer; it is the day that marked the beginning of a personal effort to be better about living.

When I heard those words -- “You have cancer” -- my mind immediately went to the things I hadn’t seen or done. The people I hadn’t spoken with in a while. The list.

And then I wondered, why haven’t I made the time?

That’s the thing about cancer. It’s tough, terrible news. But it’s liberating, too, because it is a bold reminder of what’s most important, and that becomes your focus.

I worried less about the small things. I made sure to live large in the big moments -- trying to embrace each, not allowing them to pass me by as I had before my diagnosis. I call that prioritizing the right stuff, and with all the things competing for your attention, it takes extra effort. That’s why the more removed you become from your bad news, the easier it can be to fall back into old life habits. That’s when other people keep you on track.

This time, it was my co-worker and friend Tasha Stewart. She came over to my desk to ask if I might be interested in doing a story on her first mammogram. New to the experience, she hoped her own process would take the fear and the mystery out of it for other women. And she had a reason: Doctors recently diagnosed a good friend of hers who was just 38 years old at the time.

“You want to do something,” Tasha said. Her way of “doing something” was to focus on breast cancer prevention. She knows catching it early makes it so much easier to fight. So in her 40^th year, she put her first mammogram on TV with the hope of sending that message.

“Breast cancer happens to so many people around us," Tasha said. "People you are working with. People you’re experiencing life with every day.”

Her words compelled me to have conversations with two of my co-workers who’ve had pink ribbon journeys of their own.

Meteorologist Sherry Hughes recently, bravely shared her breast cancer diagnosis with the Tri-State. Preventative testing found her problem.

“I’d like to say the strength I have on the inside, I own totally. But I feel my mom’s presence with me,” Sherry said. “And I feel God’s presence. There’s where my strength comes from.”

And she has people right at work who understand her path. Anchor Timyka Artist is a 14-year breast cancer survivor. She says pursuing the knowledge that can give a patient peace of mind, or the power to act, is so important.

“Fight like you know what – like H-E-double hockey sticks, and just do it,” Timyka said. “It is scary, but you have to know.”

I’m grateful Tasha took us along on her journey to know.

I hope you’ll join us for “9 On Your Side at 11” on Oct. 24 for a special piece this Breast Cancer Awareness Month on the pink ribbon stories right within WCPO’s walls.

But even more, I hope you’ll encourage a woman who you love to take charge of her health. Remind her that in this busy world, in her drive to take care of a lots of people and things, she needs to take care of herself first.

• If you are uninsured or underinsured (have high deductibles), Mercy Health has financial need-based assistance programs available to help. Call 513-686-3300 for more information.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — For Laurel Komarny, the breast cancer diagnosis she received in January of 2021 still hasn't completely settled in, but the fear that came with it is something she'll never forget.

"I was terrified. It was a very surreal moment. My father passed away from lung cancer when he was 61 years old and I had lost a very dear friend to breast cancer, so I think those two losses really framed my reaction in that immediate moment," Komarny said.

At 49, the Colorado Springs mom was active and relatively healthy

"I had about 48 hours where I was in sort of a panic mode," Komarny said. "Then I went into, 'OK, what can I do? What's my role in this?' That's where I kind of dug in and started my work."

That work included reinventing herself and it started with her diet and mindset.

"I think it was important for me to take control of things I could take control of, and that was my diet and my mental state. So that for me started with meditation," Komarny said. "I started to research a bunch of books around the things you should and shouldn't do when you have cancer. It became very clear that diet is huge... Things like cutting out wine every day and fried foods, so I kind of started there."

Science backs it too. The American Cancer Research Institute has 10 recommendations for preventing cancer and nearly all have to do with diet and exercise. It recommends cutting out sugars, fast and processed foods, and alcohol.

"The combination of the diet and learning to meditate, my whole being changed. Anxiety that I had suffered from for years was slowly going away. Pounds that I had gained in middle age that you just attribute to middle age had also started to fall off and even just aches and pains that existed prior to the diagnosis had also remedied themselves," Komarny said.

Today, Komarny is cancer-free. She's climbed three 14ers and in July, she celebrated another big milestone — her 50th birthday.

"I think the combination of changing my diet and changing my physical being, losing weight and not having those health issues anymore, and then the mental aspect, has been huge," Komarny said.

This story was originally published by Molly Hendrickson at KMGH.

OMAHA, Neb. —

A mother and daughter from Blair, Nebraska, are in remission after their simultaneous battles with breast cancer.

If you look through the branches of Amanda Nelson's family tree, you'll find a long history of breast cancer. So it was no surprise to her when she found out she carries the BRCA-2 gene, which makes her more susceptible to the disease.

"I knew without a doubt just from that history that the risk was very high for me," said Nelson. "There really never was a question of if I would get breast cancer, it was just always a matter of when is it going to happen," said Nelson.

Nelson stayed on top of her breast health, scheduling annual mammograms and breast MRIs.

"So with that breast MRI, it does take a deeper dive so-to-speak out of that breast tissue, just to see what's going on," said Nelson. "It's a better picture from what you're going to get with a mammogram."

Then in 2019, that MRI caught a tumor deep in her breast tissue.

"I believe [the MRI] is what saved my life," said Nelson.

Things were already hard for Amanda, who was taking care of her mom, Terry Wulf, after she received a diagnosis of her own, a rarer form of breast cancer known as triple-negative.

"It was scary. It was really, really scary to get hers," said Nelson.

The mother and daughter's treatments were very different. Amanda underwent a double mastectomy, while her mom was put on several rounds of chemotherapy and intensive oral medications.

"That was probably so hard on my body, that is when I truly thought I wasn't going to live any longer, that that was going to kill me," said Wulf.

Dr. Katie Honz is a reconstructive surgeon with Methodist Health System. She followed the two on their journey and performed Amanda's reconstructive surgery. Honz and a team of doctors meet each week for a tumor conference. These experts analyze cancer masses and come up with options for each patient.

"These patients need a lot of care, even down to their physical therapy and support teams," said Honz.

Wulf's battle with cancer would continue. To her doctors' surprise, Wulf was diagnosed with another form of cancer in her fallopian tube. But, with her daughter by her side, they never gave up, and after long, arduous battles, they both went into remission.

Now, Terry and Amanda both ask others to keep a close eye on their breast health. Amanda hopes women can find groups for support and the right doctor to make everything more manageable.

"I just want to think, 'I made it through it. And now I just want to live my life,'" said Wulf.

CINCINNATI — The Tri-State raised more than $350,000 Saturday morning at the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk. Thousands crossed the starting line — and for many, the walk was personal.

"It's in memory of my mom," Carly Korte said. "She passed away from breast cancer two and a half years ago and I'm a survivor, too."

Korte and her "Miles for Mom Team" said they hope to make the walk a tradition.

"It's hard...it's good, you know, to raise awareness and have a special event to remember my mom," Korte said.

Each of the pink pinwheels at the walk brings up a memory of its own, representing a life lost to breast cancer. Donna Salyers, the walk's executive committee chair, said money raised will help those fighting every step of the battle.

"It all stays local, and I think that's the heartening thing," Salyers said.

Organizers say 5,000-10,000 people took part — while dozens more volunteered to put it all together. The $350,000 raised was confirmed before the walk even started.

"If we didn't have our team of volunteers, we couldn't pull off this event, so it's awesome to have people who are coming out every year," volunteer lead Tiffan Stephens said. "I think it's because of the personal impact that cancer has on people's families, including mine."

With so many sharing the same heartbreak, the event offers a chance to come together and reflect.

"I think she would be happy, yeah," Korte said. "She'd be proud we're, you know, just trying to raise awareness, and I think she'd be proud."

RELATED:

Fewer women are scheduling mammograms due to COVID-19 fears, according to a local doctor.

At TriStar Summit Medical Center, Dr. Rhonda Halcomb with Centennial Women’s group, said they’re being careful.

“From the time that you check in here, patients are pre-screened and screened, we provide masks and hand sanitizer here in the building, and here in the office," said Halcomb.

Even though we’re in the middle of a pandemic, she said routine mammograms are still important.

“Breast cancer, in general, is the number one cancer in women.”

She’s sad that fewer people are showing up, or postponing their routine checks.

“It breaks my heart in general that people are scared to take care of themselves,” Dr. Halcomb said.

First hand, she has seen how mammograms can save lives.

“Breast cancer to me has affected several of my family members. I had early breast cancer detected by screening.”

Dr. Halcomb said death rates have decreased since the 1970s due to more people getting diagnosed with breast cancer - early.

“Mammograms detect breast cancer before someone can feel a breast cancer before the doctor can feel the breast cancer in the breast,” Dr. Halcomb said, “Mammograms are just as important as they’ve ever been.”

Actress Kelly Preston just died from breast cancer at 57-years-old. She leaves behind her husband, John Travolta. They were married for 28 years.

WTVF's Alexandra Koehn was first to report.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

It’s estimated that by the end of this year, approximately 30% of new cancer diagnoses for women will be for breast cancer.

One in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. But there are also nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, which means breast cancer can be treated and managed if it’s caught early.

Dr. Lori Frederick with Oklahoma University's Health Breast Health Network said women should get yearly mammograms starting at age 40, regardless of family history.

"We know that breast cancer is most commonly not related to your family history, so that’s kind of a misconception out there," she said.

She recommended 3D mammograms whenever possible.

"It helps us identify cancer that may be hidden – with the 3D imaging," she said.

Men can also get breast cancer, although it is much rarer. The National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates about 2,700 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

Although we are still in a pandemic, it’s important not to neglect yearly screenings. Frederick said she is seeing things pick back up.

"I think the word got out that you need to come in and get this done," she said.

It could save your life.

CLEVELAND — Aubrey Lewis has been a nurse at University Hospitals for four years, and for nearly the last year of that time, her work has been dedicated to fighting COVID-19.

“I work with COVID-19 patients on a daily basis,” she said.

She received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine around Jan. 20.

“When I got my vaccine, initially, I did not have any side effects at all,” she said.

But after a few days, she noticed swelling in one of her lymph nodes.

“I felt under my armpit to see if there was anything there and I felt a lump. It was kind of hard, but still mobile, it moved around,” she said.

As a nurse, it made her nervous.

“I was like, ’that’s a weird spot to have a tender lymph node,’ but as soon as I put two and two together—that I had just got the COVID vaccine on that side—I figured it was related to that,” she said.

But she did look it up.

“I did a little bit of research and it seemed like a lot of women had thought that the swollen lymph node in their axillary area, which is like their armpit area, they thought it was a breast cancer or like a breast malignancy," she said.

Dr. Holly Marshall with University Hospitals Radiology and Breast Imaging Department, said as more and more people are getting vaccinated, they’re getting more calls from women concerned that their swollen lymph nodes are a sign of breast cancer.

“We are asking everybody who is having a screening mammogram if they’ve received the COVID vaccine and, if so, what side and when the date was,” Marshall said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes about 11% of people who receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will experience swollen lymph nodes after their first dose and that goes up to 16% after the second dose.

“It means that you’re making antibodies to fight infections, so later on if your body does see a COVID-19 virus, then you’ll be able to fight the infection,” Marshall said.

The swollen lymph nodes can appear anywhere from two to four days after you receive the shot.

“Wait a few weeks and if there’s no change then come in and we will evaluate it,” Marshall said.

Lewis said no matter the side effects, she is eager to receive her second dose.

“Going into the health care field, I knew that there would be times like this, to set the pace for everyone else, so I don’t have hesitation to get the second dose,” she said.

Marshall said it’s important to note that doctors do not suggest that women delay their annual mammogram screening and said those screenings should start when they’re 40 years old.

This story was originally published by Jessie Schultz at WEWS.

CINCINNATI — Ohio state lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would ensure all women have full access to breast cancer screenings, giving them a better chance at early detection.

House Bill 371 would require insurance companies and Medicaid to cover the cost of supplemental breast screenings for patients who have dense breast tissue — which can make cancer harder to find — or elevated risk of breast cancer.

"This bill ensures more women have a better chance at early detection and not only beating breast cancer but living a long and healthy life,” said state Rep. Jean Schmidt, who co-sponsored the bill alongside Rep. Sedrick Denson of Cincinnati.

Kim Farrell, a local breast cancer patient who finished her sixth heavy-duty chemotherapy treatment Tuesday, said she might not have discovered her cancer without high-tech screenings.

"I hit calcifications, and they were so tiny and posterior that I wouldn't have found them myself,” Farrell said. “So that's just another reason to get those annual mammograms, you know, because sometimes you can't detect them, you can't feel them yourself."

Farrell encourages all women, everywhere, to begin annual breast cancer screenings. Now that she’s done with her most intensive treatment, she has a year of maintenance chemotherapy ahead.

"I'm not saying it's been super easy, but I really can't complain,” she said. “I mean, people have it so much worse. There's so many things that strive me to stay positive and just work through this, and I know I can do this. "