Patient to Patient: How to Advocate for Yourself

Cancer patients are rarely experts in their disease when they're diagnosed. However, in order to advocate for the best care, they need to learn about biology, treatment options, and where to seek reliable information and support.  

In this webinar for patients and caregivers, two cancer patients—Stephen Estrada and Mary Elizabeth Williams—discuss how they regained control after their cancer diagnosis. 

Stephen Estrada was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer at the age of 28. After surgery, chemotherapy, and a NanoKnife procedure, he enrolled in a clinical trial for atezolizumab, an anti PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, in 2015. Stephen has now been on the trial for over 3 years and has enjoyed being cancer free for the last year and a half. Now, Stephen has joined the Colorectal Cancer Alliance as the Senior Coordinator of Community Engagement. He also became a certified patient navigator, helping educate patients about clinical trials and resources to help them in their own cancer journey.

Mary Elizabeth Williams, a New York-based writer and mother of two, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2010. A year after surgery, she learned the cancer had metastasized to her lungs and enrolled in clinical trial of a promising new immunotherapy being conducted by Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The trial was a study of two checkpoint inhibitor drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab, for patients with metastatic melanoma. Within three months, she knew the treatment was working. She is the author of A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science, and Cancer.

The "Cancer Immunotherapy and You" webinar series is produced by the Cancer Research Institute. This webinar was hosted by our associate director of patient engagement, Caroline Offit. The series is made possible with generous support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, with additional support from Regeneron, Sanofi Genzyme, and Adaptimmune.

Browse our Cancer Immunotherapy and You Webinar Series playlist on YouTube or visit the Webinars page on our website to see other webinars in this series.