Patient Advocate
Port Saint Lucie, FL
Judy Perkins was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2013. A retired engineer, she became involved with patient advocacy at first to learn more about her own diagnosis and attended conferences offered by the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network and the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). She continues to be involved with the metastatic community through the Inspire Advanced Breast Cancer Discussion Group. Since 2014, she has continued to attend NBCC Summits and lobby for increased federal funding for breast cancer research.
Ms. Perkins attended Project LEAD in 2015, and she has served four times as a consumer reviewer for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. She attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2016 with a scholarship from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation (FBCF). In 2017, Ms. Perkins became a member of the Scientific Committee with FBCF. In 2018, Ms. Perkins was invited to participate with the Center for Immunotherapeutic Transport Oncophysics (CITO) - Physical Sciences Oncology Center (PSOC) as a consultant advocate at Houston Methodist.
As a patient with metastatic cancer, Ms. Perkins participated in two clinical trials. The first trial was at the University of Miami for an FGFR1 inhibitor. After the first trial failed, Ms. Perkins learned about the second trial at the National Institutes of Health. In December, 2015, Ms. Perkins became the first breast cancer patient to be treated with immunotherapy using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Since then, she has been cancer free.