Center are testing a new breast cancer vaccine.

The trials are being held at the hospital at Wake Forest University.

Carolann Adcock said she’s always been adamant about getting her yearly checkups.

“On my 60th birthday, I did what I do every year on my birthday: some regular preventative care,” she said. “I got my teeth cleaned, and I got a mammogram.”

The next day, Adcock said she was shocked to learn that a mass was found in one of her breasts.

“I was just stunned,” she said. “I have no cancer history in my family. Cancer wasn’t on my radar screen.”

Adcock had a mastectomy and has been cancer free for three years. Her biggest fear, she said, is a reoccurrence. That’s why she’s excited about the new breast cancer vaccine being tested at WFU.

“This is a trial where we’re seeking to evaluate the efficacy of two anti-cancer vaccines targeted to the HER 2 protein,” Dr. John Stewart of the WFU Baptist Medical Center said. “It’s a protein expressed in 60 to 70 percent of all breast cancers.”

The vaccine is targeted toward women who’ve already had breast cancer.

“This study is to look at women who are at high risk of reoccurrence,” Stewart said. “They need to have positive lymph nodes, can have a high-grade tumor that is estrogen receptive. These are women at high risk of having their cancer return at some point.”

A similar vaccine that was recently tested has positive results.

“Data from that study showed that women who are at high risk of reoccurrence, their risk of having their disease return within five years was reduced by 33 percent,” Stewart said.

Adcock said that’s news she’s happy to hear.

“I would certainly want to have it,” she said. “But much more, I would want my daughter to have it.”

The vaccine may not be available for years, but Adcock said it gives her and other survivors a great hope for the future.

To qualify for the vaccine study, patients must have completed treatment for breast cancer within the last six months. Call 713-4788 for more information.