Trial Vaccine Given to Florida Woman Wipes Out Breast Cancer

Right in the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness month a Jacksonville woman’s decision to try an experimental vaccine is giving new hope to those battling the disease.

Lee Mercker was diagnosed with very early-stages of breast cancer back in March. She sought treatment at the Mayo Clinic where her doctor asked if she would try a vaccine that the clinic hoped would end her breast cancer and stop it from returning. Mercker stated, "I signed up in like 10 seconds".

After a series of simple shots her tumor showed evidence of being eliminated and the immune system began responding. According to  Dr. Keith Knutson, from the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, the results were exactly what they were hoping for.

Mercker, the first human test subject for the vaccine, still underwent a double mastectomy to be sure that the breast cancer was out of her body completely. Knutson notes that the vaccine still has quite a way to go in studies and research, but they are encouraged by the results on Mercker. There are currently two other patients starting the trial.

There is hope with the doctors at the Mayo Clinic to, perhaps even next year, develop a preventative vaccine to ward off cancer even developing in healthy patients much like the flu vaccines currently in use. News like this puts us one step closer to making cancer just a long lost memory.