Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salonWINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
A Southwest Florida woman credits her survival in the fight against breast cancer to an experimental drug. (CREDIT: WINK News) A Southwest Florida woman credits her survival in the fight against breast cancer to an experimental drug. Even while the odds often seemed against her, Tarshia Rivera is a fighter. In August of 2014, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Rivera was enrolled in a clinical trial for breast cancer. “I had a rash on my breast, my left breast and you know, I just thought, you know, it was a little red. So I got over-the-counter products and tried to, you know, treat it but as time went on, it got bigger and then I felt a lump,” said Rivera. Dr. Frank Rodriguez, an oncologist at Florida Cancer Specialists, treated Rivera. “She’s an amazing human being. And, and it was very discouraging too, to give her treatment and see the disease, relentless, relentless lip, press ahead,” said Rodriguez. After undergoing first a single, then a double mastectomy along with chemotherapy, the disease was determined to persist. But so was Rivera. She had children to live for. “Every time I went through one treatment. It worked. And then it was stopped working. I would keep trying, no matter what it was,” said Rivera. The cancer barely slowed down, spreading to her lymph nodes. Fueled by faith, she was offered access to an experimental drug. “We were able to find a clinical trial that was in early stages of development, and she kind of just hit a home run with it. The particular mutation that she had, was incredibly sensitive to this medicine,” said Rodriguez. Being a research and treatment center, Florida Cancer Specialists has FDA oversight to a work with a broad range of drugs. Most are in the second or third phase of approval. It opens options for their patients while these therapies are evaluated for wider use. The drug Rivera took is an immunotherapy combination developed by Evelo Biosciences, which is still being studied. It is one of many drugs with great promise. “Every day, I have patients who are on new medicines, and their lives and how they interact with their disease is changed forever. I find it to be very uplifting. When I’m able to sit in front of someone and tell them you know, five years ago, this wouldn’t be possible,” said Rodriguez. Nearly eight years after her diagnosis, Rivera is cancer-free. “I’m a living testament of how these clinical trials, they do work, you know, you might have one or two that might not work, but just don’t give up,” said Rivera. The point of this particular drug study is to determine the proper patient who would benefit, and the dosage. Doctors say that is the key component in this new age of cancer treatment.