From Pipelines to Lifelines: Samina’s Quest to Fund a Cure

Dorothy: [00:00:00] She survived one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer and turned her experience into a mission for change. Samina Fareed knows firsthand how research innovation and compassion can save lives, but she does something more. She backs organizations and startups that are looking for the possibilities of overcoming cancer, the possibilities of a cure.

Her story is a reminder that progress doesn’t happen by chance. It happens because people care and people are willing to support the kind of research to make it push forward. Samina says that she wants to see that cure, not just in our lifetime, but in the lifetimes of people who are right now going through cancer. She knows its importance and she has made a change in the lives of so many people.

Today you’re gonna hear more about how she one [00:01:00] person is changing the world. Please share this episode with Family and Friends and subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform. We so appreciate you supporting The Rose’s mission, and most of all, we want you to take care of yourself.

Let’s Talk About Your Breast, a different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, a breast center of excellence, and a Texas treasure. You’re gonna hear frank discussions about tough topics, and you’re gonna learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.

Samina. Tell us about the first time you found out about The Rose.

Samina: It was so magical. It was all pink. I love it. I was invited to a luncheon. I had never heard of The Rose before. My friend of mine, Caroline Fent, and she said, you need to come and meet, um, Eileen Campbell, who’s a friend of hers at Marathon. And I sat with these women. I remember you gave us all, um, these [00:02:00] shawls. These ashima, beautiful shawls, which I still have. And it was so amazing because I’ve met these, this incredible group of women who were so supportive of me through that time, you know, and they said, you know, just call us with anything that you need to know.

Dorothy: And they were all survivors.

Samina: That was, yeah. And, and also what was really great was, um, I learned, ’cause I had HER2 and I met other HER2 survivors and I learned what they went through. You know, see, we really, and this has become my big passion, is you really need to start investing in helping these new innovative, whether they’re drugs or, or, or they’re devices, to help you figure out what’s going on’s so critical that we go ahead and do that because what she went through was so much harder than what I had to go through, that it really makes you grateful for that.

But that became, then, you know, I learned. All about that got a [00:03:00] lot of support. But it also started my quest, I think for like, you know, really trying to find out. Like I don’t think people realize how important research and innovation is and how difficult it is. The story of Herceptin is pretty amazing.

Dorothy: It is.

Samina: ’cause it just at the last minute to get the funding so they could do those clinical trials and get the support to run those so they could actually get this drug out there. That saved my life. And uh, so for me it’s. Now those, there are things going on right now that I think that are so incredibly important in research.

So, you know, I, as my, I, I’ve given my, uh, approval to have my little tumor travel all over the world and I, and participate in all these little surveys they send me regarding my family life as they start trying to do more research and figure out all of these connections, I participate in that. But I also look at these companies. And we’re so fortunate here. We’ve got, you know, the secret funding that is going on. We’ve got the Cancer [00:04:00] Innovation Center, we’ve got these institutions. There’s innovation happening. But what people don’t realize is that some of these things also, they get funding and grants, but you also need to get support.

So that’s where my background, kind of as an angel investor, you try and see if these companies that basically need funding, ’cause they’ll get matched, you know, they, they, they wanna get 3 million, they may have to get 3 million outside of it. So for me, um, that’s kind of a quest that I can’t keep kind of staying involved.

Dorothy: That match is so important because they’re not gonna be able to do the work without it. And I, and I think that is a, a really important point.

Samina: Yeah. Ideas are going to die. Ideas are going to die.

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: If we do not recognize that we need to continue to invest in, in research and innovation. And I, I, I get excited at times because I think where we are right now, you know, if you look at crispr, you know, editing of genes, you look at some of the other things that are happening here.

And certainly the, the role with my IT background in ai, ’cause I did a lot of AI stuff, [00:05:00] the opportunity to really do more precision um, work. I think that there are opportunities and you know how they can leapfrog each other. We need to be investing more right now.

Dorothy: Oh yes, absolutely.

Samina: We need to be investing more ’cause we can really cut the time. You know, as a cancer survivor, you’re, you’re just praying for time. Time, time, time. We need to go ahead and do as much as we can, as quickly as we can to give these people who are, we’re struggling with it now more time. And hopefully find a cure before their time is up. I’m, I’m sorry, I’m gonna misty eye, but I really believe in it.

Dorothy: No, no.

Samina: Yeah.

Dorothy: I think that, I think you’re absolutely right and that is so important. We don. We, we just don’t realize what the brink that we’re on. I mean, I see it all the time. I hear it all the time. I’m, yes, there’s so much that, and everything is so different right now. I don’t, I don’t know how to even quantify it, but it, but the perfect example is her too. There was a time that [00:06:00] was a death sentence and, and I, I mean, you could count how many years that person had 50 years think was,

Samina: I think it was like 1998. So it wasn’t that long ago. Right. And And I’m just so grateful for the fact that people push forward with this thing.

Dorothy: Yes, yes.

Samina: So I hope that, I just hope that we continue to push forward and come up with, you know.

Dorothy: Well, how can a cancer survivor help in that way?

Samina: Well, I think cancer survivor, um, one, I think that you have to be open with it. You know, you have to, you speak to it. People need to be aware of it. Once we start realizing how many cancer survivors, cancer people with cancers we have, we That you go, oh, my neighbor’s a cancer. Oh, this lovely person that, you know, uh, oh, my aunt, you.

First of all, you have to be able to do that. But I think that the, the thing there to do is to continue, um, in, in your small way to, if that’s all you can do, if you can do a big way, do a big way, but do what you can to help support it, uh, cancer survivors can certainly [00:07:00] participate in various research things.

If you don’t have to share, if you don’t have the money to give. Money is critical. I mean, let’s just talk about it. Cash helps it move things, moves things. You need cash. But if, if you can’t afford a lot of cash, you can share your information because there’s research being done. You can participate in, in, like I do, I have to fill, I’ve filled out forms that talk about, you know, take me hours sometimes to fill out.

I don’t mean to intimidate, but I’ve also done easy stuff like Mike. My, um, tumor is now traveling, has been given to research. So I think there all of these different things that you can do, um, I hope even by participating in, in this thing that you kind of make people aware of. So you, you talk about you participated.

I’ve worked with, uh, Dr. Ellis. I was his patient advocate at, you know, Baylor when he was pushing for, you know, more precision Medicine and, and things like that. So there are a lot of things that you can do. Um. But mostly tell your story. Make [00:08:00] people realize that this is a battle that is still ongoing and we need to continue to fight it.

It is not over. People think, oh, cancer, a lot of money’s been put into cancer. Oh, we got cancer done.

Dorothy: No.

Samina: No. It’s extraordinarily complex. It’s extremely complex and every patient, some medicines work on some people. Some people, it ravages their body. We have to do a lot more proactive stuff. Heck yeah. Education, big deal, right? We need to really get people educated, not just the medical people, but we need to get people educated enough and, and certainly even on the simplest things like go get a mammogram. Why is it critical to get a mammogram? I, I think to me right now, there is so much work to be done in so many different areas that, uh, a cancer survivor can participate in so many different ways to be.

Dorothy: And that’s encouraging. I mean, you know, it’s not just you went through it, but you can actually be a part of the change.

Samina: Oh, yes.

Dorothy: [00:09:00] And, and so few people realize how important that story is and all the things you’re talking about, each of them has a different part to play in this thing called cure. You know, we, there used to be a, a thing that the docs would say, you know, if we ever found out how to cure breast cancer, we could figure out all the rest of it. Because breast cancer is one of the most complex. And it can have so many different versions.

Samina: Exactly.

Dorothy: Within a single body even, you know, it’s.

Samina: Exactly, and I was, I was very naive and you know, I think I was, oh, I ran company and this, uh, I was so naive. Cancer is cancer. Is cancer the big C as they call it, right?

No, it is not. And just breast cancer.

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: Is extraordinarily complicated. That was my whole education. Uh You know, initial education into this we’re like, wow. I had no idea. So, and I, and I think again, um, I, I urge not just cancer survivors, but you [00:10:00] know, I’m, I think being a cancer supporter, like a, you know, somebody who is, uh, I, I think it’s so difficult. I sometimes, I think it’s harder to be a, uh, what do you call it, a, a cancer.

Dorothy: Caregiver.

Samina: Caregiver. Than, than to be a.

Dorothy: Who was your caregiver during that time?

Samina: Uh, it was, uh, my brother and his family, my brother and sister-in-law. And they were amazing. I mean, they were amazing. That’s why I said, you know, every time I went over to the hospital, like, where’s your brother? Hey, how’s your brother doing? Yeah. Uh, very fortunate and, you know, for them to go through, ’cause you know, I had to go through not, it’s not just going to the hospital, but it’s like the difficult thing of him, him going with me to make my will, you know, and, and go through all of those very That’s what you do. You start preparing.

Dorothy: You start preparing. Yes.

Samina: And for, you know, to be supportive through that whole process. Very hard. I went through with my younger brother and my nephew and, um, they had colon cancer, but, um, I was not their primary caregiver. But seeing somebody go through [00:11:00] that is just extraordinary. We need more support for caregivers too, I believe, because in education, again, education and how to deal with it. So all of those things are so extraordinarily important.

Dorothy: Yeah.

Samina: It’s, it’s, it’s, it changes your life.

Dorothy: Hmm.

Samina: It changes your life and, and as a cancer survivor, you know, um, I, I, I don’t know about other people, but you know, there are days, of course you forget ’cause you’re this thing, but it’s always haunting you. I’m so lucky. Of course, for me, I see scars all over my body, but, so you see it every time you, you know, see a mirror. But the whole point of the, the matter is, is that you, um, you just, I don’t know. For me it’s like, why did God keep me here? Other people didn’t make it. There’s gotta be some reason. So I, you know, you’re just so grateful all the time for it.

Dorothy: So, so you have no problem talking about your treatment, how you felt, just like being at that table, at that luncheon when people started saying, [00:12:00] here’s what you do if you have this, or.

Samina: Well, they were such a great example for me. You know, they talked openly about it. Of course. I was always, I’m pretty open about a lot of stuff anyway. My whole thing is, uh. To me it’s, it’s it’s life. This is what happens in life. Right?

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: You go through these shocks in your life and who knew cancer, right. And all of a sudden, so you deal with it, but you can’t deal with it by hiding it. And it’s not like I. Blasted it out. Well, my niece did, but, but for me it was, uh, but for me it was, but it’s a reality. We’re dealing with it.

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: And like every other thing that you have to deal with it, you have to learn about it and make educated decisions. That to me is one of the biggest things, is getting more education, letting people learn enough to ask their, I was fortunate I could do a lot of research. My family did. I, when I went and I was prepared with a doctor, I could ask a lot of questions and that was [00:13:00] helpful, um, um.

Dorothy: So when you’re mentoring women, do you, do they all know that you’ve been through cancer? Do you share it? Is it part of.

Samina: Yeah, I, I’ve done podcasts and things and or whatever and, and talks, and I’ve certainly, um, when I talk about my experience, it’s hard not to talk about it because that is very much a part of my life.

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: So it usually comes up At some point or the other. But I wouldn’t say that everybody necessarily knows it, but it’s, it’s, but I, I think in, in my journey, it has been a very impactful part of my journey. So it certainly comes up when I’m talking about myself, and because I deal with a lot of women in medicine, I kind of relate to my own experience as, um, uh, not just the caregiver, but also as a patient. You know, so a lot of the stuff that, uh, so I’ll bring it up because I, especially if they’re dealing, I see a lot of women here in Houston who are doing entrepreneurial, innovative, Things in medicine and as a result of it, that, that [00:14:00] seems, you know, that. Usually does come up. I’m very, I, I think it’s important to talk about it.

Dorothy: Right. And take us back to an example you were using about how your pipeline experience came in when you were hearing about, I mean, I just think that’s amazing if we could start looking at cancer from out, from different ways. That’s a great example.

Samina: Yeah. So I’m telling you. So it’s very, very interesting because there, there, there are so many things that have to be done. You know, it’s the drugs that have to come in, but they’re also medical devices. Uh, you know, we, you know, we’ve got the mammogram. Mammogram. Thank God, I believe I don’t do mammograms anymore, but I hear they’re nicer. So, kinder. Kinder, my.

Dorothy: Yes. True.

Samina: So my whole deal is, thank God. But my whole deal is, um, those types of, you know, things I think are extraordinarily important. Um. Uh, the innovation is, is, is, is important. So you, so, so it’s a cool thing that I went, for example, and I’ll give you for instance, so one of the things that [00:15:00] came out of here, our, our j and j uh, group here was, uh, the, I think the, one of the first companies that was a spinoff out of that group.

And I, and I, I think they’re still doing pretty well as, as a company called Prana Thoracic. And, and we looked at it, we ended up not investing. It was a timing issue. Uh, but the whole thing was, was so cool, but it, it, my, my, my pipeline experience, my oil and gas experience tied in with this health experience, you know, it was kind of cool.

They, they came up with this, uh, deal where they kind of drill in. And this is, this is for lung cancer. Lung cancer, in particularly cancer. ’cause its very hard to do. Um, you know, when you’re talking about the lungs, you’re not just talking about bleeding, um, you know, blood, but you’re talking about, you know, air escaping and there it’s very, very difficult to, to be able to get the right amount of cells, to be able to figure out.

And there’s some places in the lungs it’s very hard to get to and it was like a drilling instrument. You just go in and then they kind of heat it up and close. Ablation, I think is what it’s called. They close it up as they come out and you are able to get a much better, um, is a good pitch. My, [00:16:00] you know, um, Joanne Nathan, who I think was, may still be CEO, would love me pitching this, but it was a really cool thing ’cause you get enough, uh, cell that you can actually figure out.

You know, you know, there, there are no questions about it. Heck, you don’t want any more after you go through anything like that. You don’t want any questions. You wanna know what’s going on because you wanna move to, to resolving the problem. Um, and so all of these things that, you know, so there are all of these interesting, um, you know, things that are going on right now in regards to, I’m invested in this other company that’s, uh, started doing work and, and this gentleman came, this is now, he covers all of these, um, tumor cancers.

But his background, um, he was just recognized by the American Cancer Institute, but he, I invested him early. He lost his wife to colon cancer, so he’s, he left his job running AI company. And started working using AI to help research vaccines, you know, and um, a break by as the company. And it was, it’s, it’s lovely.

If you ever hear his story, he’s [00:17:00] got an incredible, sad, poignant story about how he’s now obsessed with trying to find a cure for these cancer. I think now they’re focused on pancreatic cancer, which now how about also? But, uh, you see all of this incredible work being done. You think like, God, God, if, and if they could just make it.

And, and then, you know, innovation leapfrogs. And from that you come, come up with so many other, so many other, you know, uh, reliefs for this type of cancer. Or not just cancer, but other types, types of, of, uh, you know, diseases and stuff. To me. We need to support that.

Dorothy: Yes.

Samina: We really, and keep coming back to that with you. But to me that is so my passion, I kind of, I get excited when I hear about something and go like, maybe this is it.

Dorothy: Maybe it is, maybe this is it kind of thing.

Samina: So it’s.

Dorothy: In our lifetime.

Samina: In our lifetime, that has to be, you know, we have to, we have to be able to, to see that, [00:18:00] uh, happen. You know, we see CRISPR gene editing. You see all sorts of things going on right now that could hopefully make a difference for people. And I wanna see it happen. Not in our lifetime, but in the lifetime those people who are right now going through it. Those who, people who are praying for their sister, their mother, their brother, their thing, they, they, they’re praying.

Dorothy: Right.

Samina: And you want for them. ’cause I wish it happened for me, for my brother and my nephew. You want to find that, happen.

Dorothy: Sorry.

Samina: Absolutely.

Dorothy: No.

Samina: Yeah.

Dorothy: No, we do.

Samina: You, you want for them to be around the corner? So.

Dorothy: Thank you.

Samina: Sorry.

Dorothy: It’s great talking with you dear.

Samina: Oh yes, yes. Yeah. Lot of fun. Oh look, some tears.

Dorothy: No, no, no. But that’s so true. This world we’ve been in.

Samina: Yeah.

Dorothy: We’ve seen how important it is.

Samina: But right now, what people need to do and what they need to realize [00:19:00] is stay ahead of it.

Dorothy: Yes.

Samina: For yourself and your family. Encourage your family members, get those tests done. Keep up with it because while we’re looking for a cure, there’s something you can control. And I’m a controller, you gotta get out there and you gotta get those tests done.

Dorothy: Absolutely.

Samina: Yeah.

Dorothy: Great advice.

Samina: Go to the mammograms.

Dorothy: Thank you.

Samina: Absolutely.

Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit The Rose dot org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast, share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self-care is not selfish. It’s essential.