Innovative Treatment Gives Tammy Bauer a Fighting Chance Against Melanoma

Allentown resident Tammy Bauer, 49, is no stranger to cancer. Over the years, she has spent a lot of time in waiting and exam room chairs, serving as a caregiver for her mom, Carol, who faced pancreatic cancer for more than seven years.

But about five years ago, Bauer found herself as the patient when she was diagnosed with an early-stage melanoma (a type of skin cancer) on her lower back.

“While it was scary at the time, I felt better knowing it was only stage 1,” Bauer says. “I had surgery to remove the spot, and my care team was confident it wouldn’t come back.”

After her procedure, Bauer returned to her role as caregiver, the only reminder of her cancer being regular checkups with her dermatologist.

However, her cancer journey was far from over.

In January 2020, Bauer noticed a lump under her arm that was growing rapidly. Within a few weeks, it started affecting her daily activities, so she brought it up at her next dermatology appointment.

It was recommended that she receive an ultrasound and biopsy. When the results showed stage 3 melanoma in her lymph nodes, Bauer was terrified.

“I was completely shocked, and I could tell it wasn’t going to be as easy to treat this time around,” Bauer says. “Luckily, my dermatologist knew exactly which doctor to send me to.”

That doctor was hematologist oncologist Suresh Nair, MD, Physician in Chief of Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute.

Bauer started her journey at the Cancer Institute less than a week later. After initial review of her case, Nair sent Bauer’s biopsy samples for molecular profiling (as part of a Strata Oncology clinical trial).

“Molecular testing allows us to look for genetic mutations in cancer cells that we can target with specific treatments,” Nair says. “The results of Tammy’s testing showed that her cancer had a rare BRAF mutation – one that is found in only about 1 percent of melanomas. Not only is the mutation rare, but it also makes the cancer more aggressive and less responsive to treatment.”

This news shocked Bauer even more, but she had complete trust in Nair’s knowledge and care.

“I was beyond terrified, but I knew my care team would fight alongside me, no matter what,” Bauer says. “Dr. Nair told me that 10 years ago, there weren’t any options for what I was facing. But now, there are a lot of promising treatments. I knew he wasn’t going to give up.”

Due to its involvement with her chest wall and a major vein, Bauer’s cancer could not be surgically removed until other treatments caused it to detach from them. The first and second treatment regimens she underwent caused severe side effects, and unfortunately, the third regimen did not have a strong effect.

“There were times I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore,” Bauer says. “But my care team never gave up, and Dr. Nair always had a new treatment in mind. He never lost hope, and that kept me going.”

Nair knew that time was of the essence for Bauer, so when he found a clinical trial that would be a good fit for her, he was hopeful. There was just one problem: It would take months for the trial to open at the Cancer Institute.

That’s when Morgan Horton, Director of Oncology Research with Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Network Office of Research and Innovation, sprang into action. She searched for a way that Bauer could receive the drug sooner and found xCures, a clinical study platform provider. The company was offering it through a compassionate use/expanded access program (which allows very sick patients to receive unapproved medications outside of traditional clinical trials).

“Tammy was able to receive ulixertinib, a targeted therapy that specifically attacks the genetic mutation driving her cancer, through compassionate use,” Horton says. “xCures was honored to help Tammy and worked with us to start her treatment around the holiday season. She was the first patient with BRAF-mutant melanoma in the communities we care for to receive the drug. It was a true Christmas miracle.”

A few days after starting ulixertinib, Bauer noticed her lump was getting softer. Two months later, Nair and surgical oncologist Aaron Blackham, MD, with LVPG Surgical Oncology, determined it could be removed.

After the procedure, Blackham called Bauer on a Saturday morning. Prepared for bad news, she was amazed to hear the opposite.

“I removed over 20 lymph nodes during the procedure, and only two still contained a few cancerous cells,” Blackham says. “It showed that the ulixertinib had worked, and in cases like Tammy’s, it was almost unheard of to see that type of response to any drug.” 

Bauer continued to take the ulixertinib and an immunotherapy medication for a year after her surgery and underwent a few radiation treatments with radiation oncologist Alyson McIntosh, MD, with Allentown Radiation Oncology Associates, to prevent her cancer from coming back.

She also was enrolled in Strata Oncology’s Sentinel Trial, which involves blood tests every three months to look for signs of cancer recurrence.

Now, more than a year after her surgery, Bauer is considered cancer-free. She is back to enjoying an active lifestyle, which includes boxing, golfing, running and going for long walks with her dogs.

She credits her amazing doctors and nurse navigator, Angela Miller, for where she is today.

“My doctors and nurses treated me as if I was a member of their own families,” Bauer says. “If Dr. Nair had bad news, he would wait to call me until the evening, so I wasn’t at work or driving home. That’s a truly special level of care that I’ve never experienced before.”

Nair says it was Bauer’s fighting spirit, and the personalized approach the Cancer Institute takes to each person’s care, that led to her incredible outcome.

“At Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, we are dedicated to personalized care through precision medicine,” Nair says. “We not only offer advanced treatments and access to over 150 clinical trials, but also opportunities for molecular profiling for most of our patients. That is the future of cancer care, and it’s already here in the Lehigh Valley.”