Cancer diagnostic employees share their stories of how cancer has shaped them

photo courtesy/cancer genetics, inc.

Employees at Cancer Genetics, Inc., are on the cutting edge of developing cancer tests, and many employees have personal stories of their own cancers and those of family members who have battled the cancers the company addresses.

Cancer Genetics, Inc., a DNA-based cancer diagnostics company that researches cancer tests and has five patents for hematological, kidney, renal and cervical cancer tests, is in a unique position to have several employees who are fighting cancer or have family members who battled the disease.

For Jane Houldsworth, CGI's vice president of research and development, after 20 years of working in the field, the pioneering cancer researcher was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma (FL) with diffuse large B-cell lymphone (DLBCL). Diagnosed in 2010, Houldsworth started treatment immediately. Approximately 40-50 percent of FL cases transform into DLBCL, which is treated with Rituximab - a drug that has revolutionized treatment of DLBCL.

"I felt a lump in my neck that didn't go down," Houldsworth said. "I knew it wasn't something that I had done, as it's just the luck of the draw, although there could be [cancer] incidents where people were exposed to insecticides and pesticides."

She got a fine needle aspirate, a CAT scan, PET scan and biopsy before going through seven rounds of treatment, four cycles every two weeks. "My first treatment was chemo, and then I took my daughter for her driver's test. Some days, I slept on the living room floor and could barely walk to the bathroom," Houldsworth said.

At Sloan-Kettering, she played "chemo bingo" with other patients and acted as an Arabic translator [her husband is Egyptian] as the group bonded.

Houldsworth's research in hematological cancer was instrumental in the development of CGI's trademarked MatBA (mature B-cell neoplasm array) of diagnostic tests to assist in disease management and treatment decisions.

Now in remission, she has a 50 percent chance of relapse in FL within seven years. Regardless, she notes that the key to beating cancer is finding the treatment tailored to one's genetics.

"We have germ line changes and somatic cells, and we specialize in somatic cell changes," Houldsworth said. "It's not just about the treatment you get but how and when you treat it and how the patient is managed. You want a broad panel of tests to help doctors make decisions about your care, learn how to develop and integrate all these results. My goal as a researcher is to come back and develop a larger panel of tests available. I look at data every day. It's about how you look at genetic alteration and personalize treatment more."

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Cancer diagnostic employees share their stories of how cancer has shaped them