The importance of clinical trials | Debbie’s Dream Foundation

Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing research funding, and providing international education and support to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF’s ultimate goal is to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide, as well as to the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo and daily oral treatments.

Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, at 50, almost a decade later. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout Canada and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie’s mission to make her dream a reality.

Essie Graeber is a gastric cancer survivor whose journey began in November 2022 when a routine colonoscopy revealed a cancerous mass in her stomach. At the age of 52, she was shocked to receive this diagnosis despite having no prior symptoms.

Since then, Essie has undergone extensive treatment for locally advanced/metastatic gastric cancer. She candidly shares her experiences, detailing the physical and emotional challenges she faces and their impact on her family. Through her story, Essie aims to raise awareness about gastric cancer and inspire others with similar diagnoses to remain hopeful and resilient.

Samuel J. Klempner is a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He conducts clinical trials and translational research focused on new targeted agents and immunotherapies, and is active in the gastroesophageal cancer community, serving on the advisory boards of Debbie’s Dream Foundation and Hope for Stomach Cancer.

Essie Graeber: I don’t know if I want to cry or if I want to smile or laugh.

Andrea Eidelman: This is going to be a very magical moment.

Essie Graeber: The first thing I’m like, can I have a hug?

Andrea Eidelman: A very inspiring moment.

Essie Graeber: I’m just so thankful.

I have so many things was going through my mind and just thank him, like thank him for his knowledge, his research, working with all the people that he worked with and, you know, just thanking him, giving my gratitude. I’m here to meet Dr. Klemper on his clinical trials. So I’m here to tell my experience of how it’s been working for me.

Andrea Eidelman: One of the roles of Debbie’s Dream Foundation as a patient advocacy organization is to promote clinical trials.

Essie Graeber: But I just want to give you a hug. Can I give you a hug?

Samuel Klempner: We know what the current standards in and they’re just not good enough. Our treatments add, you know, months, which is great, but we want to add years. The way that we do that is through clinical trials.

Andrea Eidelman: We’ve seen many of our patients thriving on clinical trials.

Essie Graeber: Thank you. It’s so nice to meet you.

So nice to meet you. Thanks for making the trip. I’m so grateful to be in your presence right now.

I really am.

Samuel Klempner: You’re the one doing the work. We just, we just give a little direction. Trials mean everything because that’s how we move the needle forward.

I mean, without trials, there’s no new drugs.

Essie Graeber: When people say how it’s going to feel, I’m going to cry, I want to laugh, I want to smile.

Samuel Klempner: Laughing is better than crying in general. It’s my approach.

Essie Graeber: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Andrea Eidelman: Dr. Sam Klempner has been involved with our organization as long as I can remember. He’s always available for patients. He’s always available to answer any questions that we may have. He’s very engaged with the patient community, which to us is very important.

Many patients and physicians don’t get these opportunities.

Samuel Klempner: When we have an idea, it’s not enough just to have an idea. You have to have money to execute it. And there’s a limited pot of government funding for stomach and esophagus cancers.

So advocacy groups that raise awareness and get in front of the people that make these decisions and allocate and appropriate funds, you know, that’s a voice that is quite powerful.

Andrea Eidelman: Debbie’s Dream Foundation has been advocating for federal dollars for 13 years.

Samuel Klempner: We see the other end of the spectrum, that is people that are doing great, like Essie is doing fantastic and has living her life and doing all the things that anyone else without cancer would do, and that’s what we want.

Essie Graeber: I’m living a great quality of life right now, so there’s hope. I like to encourage others to never give up. That’s like a motto for me also.

Andrea Eidelman: That is one of our mission objectives, is to make sure that patients have the resources, that they can connect with clinical trials, and that they can be offered these future therapeutic approaches.

Essie Graeber: I’m here, I’m living a great quality of life right now.

Andrea Eidelman: Without organizations like ours, patient advocacy organizations, the patients will be left alone.

Essie Graeber:  I have faith that God is miraculously going to take this out of my body and heal me for good, and I have five grandchildren, one on the way, so I’m just like, I can’t, I can’t give up. I know I got to push through. People that have been diagnosed with cancer, but to be able to just be impersonal if you like.

Samuel Klempner: Yeah, yeah, well, everybody’s got their own story.

Essie Graeber: Yes, I might have a story to tell. I’m ready to tell.

Samuel Klempner: Yeah, I’m ready to hear it.