But the life sciences patent attorney with law firm Cooley LLP — an ultramarathoner, vegan and maven of biometric information — was brushed off by her doctor. When she felt winded running up hills, the doctor advised her to change her plant-based diet; when she gained weight despite the same eating and exercise regimen, he told her to take thyroid medication; when blood work in March said she had cancer, he suggested it was just a bad day at the lab.
As Mayer shopped later that day, the test results came over her phone:"highly suspicious" for retroperitoneal liposarcoma, a rare, tough-to-treat tumor that sits behind the belly. Meanwhile, Mayer's longtime biotech clients, many working in the cancer space, weren't waiting. They stepped up with introductions to some of the world's top sarcoma specialists, who met her over weekends, on the phone and looked at her scans. Doctor after doctor started to call.