When Rebecca Hall was diagnosed with having a relapse of her breast cancer, she was told that the disease had spread to her brain and that she might have only a few months to live. That was in November of 2018.

“Now it’s 2026, and I’m still here,” Hall says with obvious delight.

The change in her outcome occurred because Hall was one of 17 patients who enrolled in an investigational therapy clinical trial through the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium, with UAB providing central monitoring.

Using a combination of three drugs, Hall’s cancer remained under control for approximately 18 months before it started progressing again. By then, however, two FDA-approved drugs for her type of cancer had come to market, including one that was utilized in the trial.

"I was willing to try anything because I had to be there for Charlie… It was absolutely amazing. The trial saved my life."

Rebecca Hall

“Rebecca Hall’s disease is an aggressive diagnosis with a historically poor prognosis, often measured in months despite treatment,” says Erica Stringer-Reasor, M.D., director of the breast cancer program at the UAB O’Neal Cancer Center. “This trial provided an opportunity for Ms. Hall and other participants to receive a promising investigational therapy before it was FDA-approved, offering hope where few options existed.”

While the trial contained quite a bit of uncertainty, Hall says she felt she “didn’t really have a choice,” especially since she was a single mom with a preschool-aged son named Charlie.

“I asked Dr. Stringer-Reasor what the side effects would be, and she said she had no idea because there weren’t any treatments for my type of cancer and I’d be [part of the first group] on the trial,” Hall says. “But I was willing to try anything because I had to be there for Charlie.”

Hall discovered that the side effects from the trial drugs were indeed harsh, particularly for the first few months. Still, she was determined to maintain a semblance of a normal life for her son, so she went on a beach vacation with family members not long after starting the trial.

“I couldn’t even walk to the beach by myself. I held my mom and sister’s arms, and they got me out there somehow,” Hall says. “Then after being on the trial for four months, we went back to the beach, and I was able to walk down there by myself. It was absolutely amazing. The trial saved my life.”

Hall has been on the antibody chemotherapy drug Enhertu for the past four years, and her follow-up scans have been positive. This has enabled Hall to continue being there for Charlie, who is about to enter eighth grade, much to the delight of Stringer-Reasor.

“We were both young mothers when she enrolled in the trial, and over the years, I have had the privilege of getting to know her and her family,” Stringer-Reasor says. “Watching her son grow up has been a gift.

“Each year, she sends me a holiday card featuring the adventures and milestones her family has enjoyed together – moments that might not have been possible without advances in research and clinical trials. Receiving that card is truly the highlight of my year and serves as a powerful reminder of why we do this work.”