The Power of Support Through Cancer
- Lizzy Musi is battle stage four breast cancer with lots of support from her community. Many people have shared their encouragement with the #lizzystrong hashtag on social media.
- Musi has stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer. This is one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. It does not have any of the main drivers of breast cancerthe estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptorand consequently doesn't respond to treatments that target them.
- She is receiving the drug Trodelvy (generic name sacituzumab govitecan) and immunotherapy via a clinical trial.
- Trodelvy is an antibody-drug conjugate. This means it has an antibody attached to an anti-cancer drug, and the antibody delivers the drug directly to the cancer cells when Trodelvy enters the bloodstream via IV infusion.
- Delivering the drug in this way means it can reach the cancer cells with minimal effects on healthy cells.
- Feeling supported during a cancer battle is hugely beneficial. According to New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik, receiving the diagnosis “can be a very overwhelming experience” that requires finding support outside of your usual circles to help cope.
Musi, a race car driver on the Discovery reality show "Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings," is currently battling stage four breast cancer. Even still, she’s working her way through another racing season and continuing to share updates with fans, like when she shaved her hair and found humor in the moment.
Support During a Cancer Battle
“Crush Cancer 👊ðŸ¼,” fellow “Street Outlaws” racer @discodeankarns wrote on Instagram. “Let's all pray for LizzyðŸ™ðŸ¼ #LizzyStrong You got this â¤ï¸ We love you We are all in this with you…”
Photographer Rick Belden also took the time to make a post for his friend.
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“Taking a break from my normal posts to ask for some prayers for a friend,” he wrote under a series of photos he took of Musi from 2015. “For those that don't know @lizzymusi is one of the reasons I have a career in photographing Drag Racing.
“If saying a prayer is your thing, please say one for my friend Lizzy as she needs them right now… I'm praying for you to pull through this Lizzy!”
Seeking Support During a Cancer Journey
Feeling supported during a cancer battle is hugely beneficial. According to New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik, receiving the diagnosis “can be a very overwhelming experience” that requires finding support outside of your usual circles.
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"Some people don't need to go outside of their family and friends circle. They feel like they have enough support there," Plutchik previously told SurvivorNet.
"But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it is important to reach out to a mental health professional."
Dr. Plutchik recommends the following three steps for anyone who just found out they had cancer.
- Seek additional support if you need it. This might mean speaking to a mental health professional or finding a support group to join.
- If needed, find a mental health professional who has experience helping people dealing with things like cancer.
- Make sure your care team stays connected. Your care team may include your friends, loved ones, therapist and doctors.
Overall, know you’re not alone and there are many people out there for you to be vulnerable with should you choose to open up about your cancer diagnosis.
Lizzy Musi’s Breast Cancer Journey
Lizzy Musi’s cancer journey began when she found "a marble-sized lump" in her breast after breast augmentation surgery a procedure to increase the size of the breasts, according to Mayo Clinic. After visiting a doctor who wasn’t too concerned about the lump, she decided to make another appointment when the spot grew to the size of a Cutie's brand clementine just a month later.
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Eventually, that led to her diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer does not have any of the main drivers of breast cancerthe estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptorand consequently doesn't respond to treatments that target them.
Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of the disease.
"I kinda felt numb, I didn't know how really to act," she said of first hearing her diagnosis. "I was in disbelief, honestly.
"I didn't cry which is weird."
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Further testing led to the discovery that her cancer was metastatic, or at stage four, and that was the day she “finally broke down.”
"I don't how long I had this for," she said. "The doctor finally told me it definitely has moved to my liver and at that point they called it metastatic… Stage 4 breast cancer that has moved now to the other parts of the body."
If you want to learn about advanced breast cancer treatments, check out SurvivorNet's "Breast Cancer: Later Stage Treatment" page.
Though triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive, there are still good treatment options out there. According to Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “the most important way we would treat this cancer for many patients is with chemotherapy."
"It's really important to talk to your doctor about what chemotherapy options are available," Dr. Comen said.
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For treatment, Musi is currently receiving the drug Trodelvy (generic name sacituzumab govitecan) and immunotherapy via a clinical trial.
Trodelvy is an antibody-drug conjugate. This means it has an antibody attached to an anti-cancer drug, and the antibody delivers the drug directly to the cancer cells when Trodelvy enters the bloodstream via IV infusion.
Delivering the drug in this way means it can reach the cancer cells with minimal effects on healthy cells.
“These medications actually use an antibody to find the tumor and then bring chemotherapy (the anti-cancer drug) directly to the them,” breast oncologist Dr. Sylvia Adams, director of the Breast Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
“And, being a smart bomb, you have less toxicity in the entire body.”
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As a result of her treatment, Musi suffered from severe hair loss that eventually forced her to shave her head. She admitted she struggled with the idea of losing her long, blond hair, but she’s since come to terms with her new look.
“Well here is the new me,” she wrote under a beautiful selfie featuring her shaved head. “Some days are tough to look in the mirror but there are days where I feel stronger than ever.”
Ways to Cope With Hair Loss
If losing your hair is a concern for you ahead of cancer treatment, know you have options like wigs, hats, wraps, and scarves, among other things.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are currently no treatments that guarantee your hair won't fall out during or after chemotherapy. Still, some treatments like the following may help:
- Scalp cooling caps
- Minoxidil (Rogaine)
With scalp-cooling devices, they were approved by the FDA in recent years first in breast cancer and then in a number of other cancers.
Dr. Julia Nangia, a medical oncologist at Baylor College of Medicine and a lead author on one of the major studies of the device, says 50% of women were able to keep their hair after four rounds of chemotherapy, and added "without the devices, 100% of patients lost their hair."
There has been some question of safety when it comes to scalp-cooling, but Dr. Nangia says that when given to people who have solid tumors (like in breast, ovarian, colon, and lung cancer) the devices are safe.
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