MARP 2023: Sharon and Diego
Sharon Anderson, Advocate and Diego Pedroza, Researcher
Sharon Anderson is a wife and mother of two beautiful daughters, she is a thriver and a warrior. She was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) 7 years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting Sharon at the MBRCR through a great new program called MARP which aims to pair researchers with patient advocates. Sharon and I sat next to each other throughout the entire conference and shared stories. Both Sharon and I talked about the importance of culture and outreach for African Americans and Hispanics, specifically in the poorer areas around Houston. Sharon was very attentive during the lectures and presentations. She even came to my poster and I had the pleasure of explaining our research to her as well as other advocates. This was definitely a unique opportunity for me, the enthusiasm of the patient advocates made it a more joyful and fun experience. After taking some nice pictures we left the meeting. Sharon and I have been keeping in touch via text messages and emails. I had the opportunity to share an abstract from our recently awarded American Cancer Society fellowship. Sharon is a very driven person and we are currently in plans for her to visit our laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine. Without a doubt I can say that meeting Sharon and hearing her story has enlightened me and I have gained a new perspective that most scientist never have the opportunity to obtain. Her story has encouraged me to keep pursuing our goal of eradicating breast cancer. I look forward to keeping Sharon involved on our upcoming grant proposals and will welcome her feedback. I also look forward to having a long standing relationship with her even when I transition into my own independent lab. I will continue to stay in touch with Sharon and share her story to my student and postdocs in the hopes that they will be as encouraged to continue to do research as I am.
Patient Advocates have always been ready to fund raise to support cancer research.
Researchers and Patient Advocates share the goal of answering questions that improve patient care, quality of life, and cancer survivorship. We both seek to ensure that clinical studies are well-designed and ethical, reducing patient burdens. It is important that advocates Learn about the science so we can communicate effectively with the research community. I would like to establish a trust relationship by demonstrating how I can support cancer research in a way that researchers value. While listening to the speakers at the conference, it triggered conversations between Diego and I that lead us to other dialogue concerning cancer research. This partnership is greatly needed for both Researcher and Patient.
