Seeing another cancer survivor face-to-face standing at the edge of her hospital bed made it possible for Meg Berté to believe that she too, could regain her health, her strength and her life. Now Meg does the same for cancer patients who are facing the uncertain road she has traveled.

Meg had an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s disease that returned six months after she completed treatment. To kick the cancer the second time, Meg enrolled in a clinical trial including chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant. Her journey involved numerous setbacks. She was very afraid of dying, and it seemed her ordeal would never end.

One day, Meg’s doctor sent one of his former patients to visit her in the hospital. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “I don’t remember anything that we talked about that day – I only remember what he represented. He was a living example that I, too, would get to the other side. And I did.”

When her cancer returned, Meg was told her chance for survival was 40 percent. But her doctors had better news for her, thanks to the clinical trial. “I have no doubt that the trial saved my life,” she says. “But how many people with diseases like mine never venture outside of their local hospital or cancer center to learn about their full range of treatment options, including groundbreaking, forward-thinking clinical trials? Are they still here to tell their stories?”

Meg helps lead an orientation group for patients preparing for stem cell transplants. “I love what I do, I love my job and my life but when I speak to these patients, that is when I am happiest and I sort of feel that is what I’m meant to do,” she says.

That’s how Meg feels about her role on the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ Team. Doctors and nurses can give technical information about cancer treatment. Family members can provide love and support. But fellow cancer survivors who joined clinical trials, experienced the treatment and are here to tell about it, offer the most compelling encouragement for patients who will go through the same thing.

“Just like the transplant survivor who came into my hospital room and gave me hope during a very difficult period in my treatment, I can serve as a living example to others,” Meg says. “That is now one of my life’s goals -- to share my story in the hopes of giving strength and courage to patients who need it.”