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Heather Kaiser is a mom of two boys and an attorney living a full and busy life. When she went in to see her doctor in 2025 at age 43 about gastrointestinal issues, she had no idea she would be facing an indefinite medical journey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Kaiser initially assumed that her symptoms were most likely related to hormones or her diet. After an elimination diet, she began to feel better and joked to her friends that there was no way she could have cancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
However, her symptoms soon returned despite eating a healthy diet. Within a month of symptom recurrence, Kaiser found herself in the emergency room. She was once again sent home, this time being told that it was \u201cjust an ovarian cyst.<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n At a follow-up with her OB-GYN<\/a>, she said her symptoms were finally being taken seriously, and she received a referral to a gastroenterologist<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, when she came out of a colonoscopy<\/a>, the doctor was visibly upset. He told her, \u201cI cannot believe I have to tell you this. I found a mass the size of a fist.\u201d He continued to tell her that it would have to be surgically removed and that it was most likely cancer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI held out hope for a good week, as we waited for pathology<\/a>,\u201d Kaiser said. \u201cBut when I got it back, I was like, \u2018OK, so \u2026 I have cancer.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n She didn\u2019t tell anyone, even her husband, for at least a day. She needed the time to process the news herself before she told others. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe all believed that we had caught it early, and I was just gonna be able to do surgery,\u201d Kaiser said. \u201cIt just hasn\u2019t been my story.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It was initially thought that Kaiser had a traditional form of colon cancer<\/a>, which is generally slow-growing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n After talking with surgeons, she scheduled her surgery for June 2025, six months after her initial visit to the ER. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201c[It] was kind of far out, but there was life going on. I have two small boys, who were 10 and 5 at the time. I wanted to wait until they were done with school,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n While the surgery went well overall, Kaiser\u2019s surgeon was fairly certain they didn\u2019t achieve clean margins. Clean margins indicate that no cancer cells were present at the outer edges of the tissue removed during surgery. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser was then referred to an oncologist, who sent the tumor out for genetic testing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI remember sitting in the hospital, and I was so afraid of chemo,\u201d she said. \u201cI was afraid of how I was going to feel, how I was going to look, and mostly, how I was going to be able to show up as a mom.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Typically, colon cancer spreads to the lungs and liver. However, in her case, it spread to the lymph nodes surrounding the lungs and the liver. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kasier\u2019s health team noted how unusual this was and wanted to wait for her biomarker results before making a treatment plan. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n When the biomarker testing results came back, Kaiser learned that she had a unique type of colon cancer called BRAF<\/a>, a mutation only present in around 10%<\/a> of metastatic colorectal cancers. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser had a BRAF mutation known as V600E, which appears in approximately 96% of BRAF colorectal cancer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n This meant that there would be a completely different treatment for her cancer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe prognosis was 13 months,\u201d she said. However, there were clinical trials going on for that specific V600E mutation at the time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In August 2025, she became part of the protocol designed by the \u201cI called myself Patient Zero, even though I\u2019m sure I was never [actually] called that!\u201d Kaiser joked. \u201cMayo Clinic was following me, Minnesota Oncology was following me, I\u2019m being followed by the [University of Minnesota], because I\u2019m just so new.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She began a regimen of four different drugs \u2014 three were administered by IV, and one was an oral medication called Braftovi<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prior to Braftovi, Kaiser\u2019s specific colon cancer mutation was chemo-resistant, which is why her outlook was so grim. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, Braftovi not only targets the cells that allow cancer to reproduce, but also enhances the effects of other drugs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was really cold sensitive<\/a>. I couldn\u2019t have anything cold. I couldn\u2019t touch anything cold. It was really rough,\u201d Kaiser said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n She tried many medications to help with symptoms like nausea, but nothing worked. She felt like she would just have to live with the nausea and spend her life eating toast and applesauce all the time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI take an oral cannabis<\/a> pill. And that finally helped with the nausea. I take it before bed, and I take a gummy<\/a> in the morning to help with the nausea and fatigue during the day.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser went in for her first CT following treatment in October 2025. She had done eight rounds of treatment at that time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe CT scan came back, \u2018complete response to treatment, no evidence of disease,\u2019 which was a shock. It was a shock to my doctors. They didn\u2019t even see those kinds of fast results in the trial.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser\u2019s doctors began to examine what might have contributed to her remarkable response to the treatment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n They said her age and overall health were possibilities. She had always exercised regularly and had continued to do so through treatment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMy oncologist also thought that my positive attitude contributed to my quick response,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite her CT results, Kaiser has had to continue treatment. This is because the V600E mutation isn\u2019t curable and doesn\u2019t go into remission<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Now, at 43, Kaiser said that despite her stage 4 cancer diagnosis, she leads a full and busy life. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The most challenging part, she said, is navigating motherhood, work, and family life without the energy and stamina she once had. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Still, Kaiser\u2019s supportive community of family, friends, and neighbors has made a big difference in her recovery and ongoing treatment. Knowing she has help when she needs it, and even when she doesn\u2019t know she needs it, has allowed her to continue working full-time and be the best mom to her boys she can be. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser said the best advice she can give to people who are living with cancer, especially those like her who face indefinite treatment, is the way she has lived since she began treatment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe best thing to do for me was to plan my life, and then just fit cancer in there, rather than [allowing] cancer to run my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kaiser added that she tries to run her life first and then make space for the cancer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u2018Patient zero\u2019 in a groundbreaking treatment plan <\/h3>\n<\/p>\n