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Searching Blood for Cancer Clues

ONCE A MONTH, 40-year-old Kristen Kilmer drives nearly 400 miles from her home in Spearfish, South Dakota, to the Avera Cancer Institute in Sioux Falls. On some mornings, she leaves as early as 1:30 a.m. after kissing her sleeping 11-year-old daughter goodbye. Without traffic or inclement weather, it’s a six-hour haul from one side of the state to the other.

Once there, Kilmer, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in July 2015, meets with her oncologist to discuss symptoms, medication side effects and other relevant issues. Every three months, she gets a PET-CT scan. She also provides a blood sample as part of her participation in a clinical trial to learn more about a blood test known as a liquid biopsy. It’s because of the trial—and Kilmer’s belief that liquid biopsies will ultimately help other cancer patients—that she makes the trek.

Read more in the spring issue of Cancer Today, here.