Surviving Stage IV Cancer: The Power of Patient Peer Navigators

At 49, Karen Peterson was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Two years later it was stage IV, with a prognosis measured in months. Karen tells Stephanie Sirota how biomarker testing and a Phase 1 immunotherapy trial saved her life, why she walked out on her original oncologist, and what underrepresentation in clinical trials looks like up close. She also explains how Karen's Club, a New York City nonprofit and 2025 grantee partner of the RTW Foundation, helps patients of color use their own test results to make informed decisions about trials.