Living Proof Page #4

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Let's take the easy way out.

It's just your life we're talking about.

- Since when did I raise a quitter?

- I have stage four cancer mom.

We haven't run out of doctors yet.

No, we haven't.

Just tell me we'll be on the "K"s, right?

- No, we're well into the "M"s.

- Okay, good.

I'm gonna go change and...

- Cream or lemon?

- I think it's cream today.

I hate chemo. I hate chemo.

Your mom's on line two.

Hey mom, what's up?

Hey, what's up?

I've been behind you and Denny for

a long time so I'm gonna ask you flat out.

Are we ready to take

HER-2 to the next step?

100%.

Okay. I'm approving the

mouse protein study.

Call Slamon and get him to go ahead.

Tell him he needs to hurry.

He'll be ready, Andy. Believe me.

Are you okay?

My mother was just diagnosed

with breast cancer.

I'm sorry.

Did you get Ricky to sleep?

Listen to this.

"UCLA is looking for volunteers

with advanced cancer

to test an experimental drug."

It says to call a Dr. Slamon.

There's no harm in calling.

You do qualify for the study.

And I know your time is very very precious,

so I want to thank you

for giving a week of it to me.

I'd be lying if I didn't tell

you I'm hoping for a miracle.

Hope is a good thing.

I do it all the time.

I want you to remember

that this is only a test

to see if the drug that was grown in mice

can be tolerated by people.

Now that means

I can only give you one dose.

But if it works like I think it will,

it might give you a little bit more time.

And we're talking about

the time you have left.

So, I want you to

take a day or two and think about it.

And whatever you decide

is the right decision. Okay?

I don't need to think about it.

Good morning everyone.

Today is a historic day.

We're here to do something

that has never been done before.

To inject a drug that was grown in mice

protein into people

to see if it is safe.

I have every faith

that it will not harm you in any way.

And hopefully, if the drug works like

I think it will, it will give you more time.

- Good morning, Nicole.

- Good morning.

- Are you ready?

- Yes

Congratulations. You just made history.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

We've got a reaction. Nicole Wilson.

Miss Mouse Ears.

You just finished the Mouse

Protein Test four months ago.

In corporate time it's like five minutes.

Yeah that's just long enough

for them to forget about us.

We have to start the Phase One trial.

They have to say yes.

Truth I think most of them mostly

never heard of you or HER-2.

Yeah? Tell me something I don't know.

- Hello

- Denny, nice to see you.

The necessary. We have everything

we need to make our decision.

I just want to remind you

of a couple of things first.

HER-2 is the most promising drug

this company has ever seen.

I stood right here. I did

something that has never been done before.

I shrank a cancer tumor

with six drops of our drug.

No poison. No chemotherapy.

Just the antibody.

Well, it's a big leap from shrinking a tumor

in a dish to curing cancer, doctor.

This isn't a cure. It's a treatment to

shrink cancer tumors and make them inactive.

Which is better than chemo and radiation,

because it has no side effects.

I wish we could know without an official

study that the drug would work.

But if we test it

and have a bad result,

it will be the Interferon disaster

all over again.

It's the only cancer drug

we ever developed and it almost ruined us.

You developed that

based on no hard evidence.

I have shown you real data.

Real data that HER-2 can work.

We can't base our decision

just on the science.

We have a responsibility

to the company.

And spending millions on HER-2 means we

aren't spending in more on promising drugs.

When you put all the pieces together,

the potenital downside is just too severe.

Well clearly, you don't have anyone

with cancer in your life.

How lucky for you. Well, I do.

I speak to cancer patients

and their families every day

and I hope, for their sake, that one day

there is a better treatment out there

than the current slash and burn

that exists at the moment.

When I was a kid,

I watched a doctor save my father's life

and I knew at that moment that

I wanted to do what he did,

because when you save someone's life

you're not just saving them,

you're saving everyone around them.

And now, when I look into a woman's eyes

and tell her that her cancer is terminal

and she tells me:

"What are the treatments available?"

and I tell her, "We don't have any,"

I know that we do.

- But you don't know HER-2 will work.

- I do know! I know!

Don't throw this chance away.

Maybe you've been sitting

behind a desk for too long.

Maybe I've been on the frontlines

longer than I should've.

But, for God's sake,

don't forget who we are!

We're not businessmen.

We're doctors.

Approve the Phase One trial.

- You guys are fast.

- We could still use some help.

I was working on my masterpiece.

You look beautiful.

Not too bad for someone who wasn't

supposed to make it till Christmas, huh?

Let's put it right in the middle.

That's us!

It's so pretty.

What are you doing?

Loving you.

- But, mom, I've got soccer.

- Mother's prerogative.

- Ellie?

- Hi, do I know you?

- I'm Josh.

- Thank you.

- Oh I'm meeting a friend.

- Yeah, me.

- Kate set this up.

- Oh gosh.

- Look I'm sorry. I don't date.

- Oh, you do eat.

- Look, Josh...

- We're here, so why not?

We'll eat fast.

We don't even have to talk.

The cancer's back. I'm scheduling

another round of chemotherapy.

No.

No more chemo. We've decided.

It's a quality of life issue.

I understand. I'm very sorry.

There is an outside chance.

A colleague is going to be testing

an experimental drug.

I'd like to send your slides.

Whatever.

Hey I've been waiting for you. I got

some news. The board voted yes.

- We're moving to Phase One?

- Yeah, but there's trouble.

- They put Reinhart in charge.

- Reinhart?

Why? He doesn't even believe in HER-2.

- But you know what? A go is a go.

- Let me finish, Denny.

He's bringing in these so-called

"Thought leaders" to head the study.

- He's not including you.

- But it's my study.

It's Genentech's study,

and they put Reinhart in charge.

I'm sorry. I wilted back for you,

but it's his call.

Hang on a second.

You have to change his mind.

They want superstars,

breast cancer specialists

to run these big clinical tests.

Come on. You need me.

This isn't just me protecting my turf here.

This is me protecting

everything we've worked for.

There are 3 arms to the study.

San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles.

I'll go back to him,

see if I can get him to give you LA.

I've already set up a network of doctors

who are gonna refer the patients to me,

- So tell him that.

- Keep screening for participants.

I'll see what I can do.

- Hello

- Barbara Bradfield?

- Yes

- Yes, this is Dr. Slamon of UCLA.

I'd like to talk to you

about joining the HER-2 trial.

What's HER-2?

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