The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

Aradhana & Praveen have lived with their 15 year old daughter Aneesha, in the beautiful Meadowvale neighbourhood of Mississauga for the last 20 years or so. Tragedy hit their family in March of 2020, when Aradhana was diagnosed with stage 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). TNBC is one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Conventional chemotherapy does not work against it. This news was devastating for all three of them. For the next 6 months, Aradhana received several rounds of chemo, radiation, and a surgery (Mastectomy). Aradhana’s burns from the radiation had not healed fully when cancer returned in May 2021. It had spread to her ribcage, lymph nodes & lungs. It was now stage 4 & had escalated very fast. In Sept 2021, Aradhana was put on a clinical trial at Princess Margaret Cancer Center (PMCC). However in 2 weeks, her lungs got filled with a fluid that came out positive for cancer as well (Pleural Effusion). She was put under home care with daily visitation from nurses to drain the fluid from her lungs. She was placed on another drug called Eribulin. Nevertheless, after two chemo cycles, it was deemed to be unhelpful. Cancer was spreading rapidly in her body. Later that month, a new drug called Trodelvy for mTNBC (metastatic triple negative breast cancer) got approved in Canada. On Dec 16, 2021 they got a call from PMCC saying their application for the drug had been approved for treatment, with full financial coverage for the cost on compassionate grounds. She began this new treatment in Dec 2021. So far she is responding well to it. The Sharma family is grateful to Dr. Cescon and his team for working hard and acting swiftly in executing their treatment plans, and for their strong advocacy of Trodelvy for her. It’s because of their persistent hardwork, compassion and care, that Aradhana is able to breathe and wake up every day despite a weak prognosis in Autumn 2021.