Researchers look into why cancer spreads, comes back

When a woman gets breast cancer she can't help, but worry if it will spread or come back.

And now scientists in Philadelphia have made some discoveries about cancer that spreads. It could help more men and women beat the disease.

Sarita Jordan was just 35 years old when she had her first encounter with breast cancer.

After surgery and chemotherapy, Sarita was cancer-free and working hard on rebuilding her health and raising four kids.

Along the way, she got hooked on running.

"It was just freeing and it felt good," Sarita said. "I went from 5K to 10K to half marathon."

But early last year, a nagging headache sent her for medical tests and the diagnosis was stunning.

"I had a tumor wedged between my brain and skull," Sarita said.

Meanwhile across town at the Wistar Institute, Dr. Frank Rauscher's team is learning how and why some cancers spread.

Rauscher is a second-generation cancer sleuth - his father was director of the National Cancer Institute in 1974 when the US declared war on the disease.

He's found a very small set of genes which allow malignant cells to leave a tumor.

And they don't go alone, they take their own support system of blood vessels.

Here's how he explains it.

"If you leave your child leaves your house for college, you give them some of the furniture," Dr. Rauscher said.

The cells are also cloaked in blood platelets, so they can evade the immune system.

Most cells will die before getting established.

But Rauscher's team is working on new drugs to stop those that survive.

"Instead of targeting the tumor cell which is going to be metastatic, let's target its furniture," Dr. Rauscher said.

Right now, Sarita's cancer is being controlled with oral chemotherapy.

She's not worried about what's ahead as she's too busy making memories with her family, and reaching other metastatic cancer patients through Facebook support groups.

"I get the joy out of day to day to day to day," Sarita said.

The American Cancer Society is supporting this research.

You can help move it forward by supporting their campaign.

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk is this Saturday. It's at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. It starts at 7:30 a.m.