Matt Beran, Stage IV Colon Cancer
Comprehensive Cancer Centers is committed to offering groundbreaking research to its patients. In this Research Spotlight, learn how Matt travels to Las Vegas from Boulder City to not only receive treatment for his stage IV colon cancer, but also to get access to a clinical trial that has given him back his quality of life.
Matthias “Matt” Beran lives in Bullhead City, Arizona but makes the trip to the Henderson and Las Vegas area to receive treatment from doctors at Comprehensive Cancer Centers (Comprehensive).
Matt was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 1,430 Nevadans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year and an estimated 470 Nevadans will also lose their lives to the disease. Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer diagnosed in the United States.
Initially, Matt attempted to get treatment with oncologists closer to his home in Bullhead, but after a month of trying, he never even received a call to schedule a PET scan. After weeks of delays, he decided to be his own advocate and reached out to his insurance to determine what his options were to be seen by an oncologist elsewhere.
This led him to drive to Las Vegas to have an initial consult at Comprehensive with Dr. Stephani Christensen. The experience was immediately a breath of fresh air compared to the run around he had received from other oncologists. As he drove away from his first visit, he had already received a call from Comprehensive to schedule his PET scan.
After consulting with Dr. Christensen, he immediately started treatment in 2017 and his scans showed that he was cancer-free for a year. Unfortunately, the cancer returned and metastasized to his liver. This called for stronger chemotherapy treatments and Matt began to lose his hair.
He then learned that the cancer has a HER2+ mutation. This development led to Dr. Christensen recommending a clinical trial for him, utilizing a combination of the drugs tucatinib and trastuzumab.
One year later, his scans show no evidence of disease in his colon or liver. As a result, he continues to be part of the clinical trial and it has caused him no side effects. All his hair has grown back, he experiences no nausea, and he is feeling much better overall.
Matt says he enjoys coming to Las Vegas for his doctor visits and treatments because it is worth the peace of mind. He and his wife even make a day of it and try a new restaurant every time they make the trip.
“The people at Comprehensive are great. The entire staff is excellent, everyone really cares.”
Comprehensive Cancer Centers has partnered with some of the world’s most recognizable research and cancer-fighting organizations, including The US Oncology Network, UCLA TRIO-US, USC, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and leading pharmaceutical companies to offer groundbreaking research to its patients. The practice participates in more than 170 Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III clinical research studies each year and has played a role in developing more than 100 FDA-approved cancer therapies.