Did anyone see this?!! LET'S HOPE!

catwink22
catwink22 Member Posts: 281
in Emotional Support #1
I'm not sure where to post this, but this is such GREAT news for the cancer community!! These 3 people were at the end of their battle for they had run out of treatment options. I know to be cautiously optimistic, but this is incredible! Definitely worth the few minutes to read. This could be an answer to a lot of people's prayers...LET'S HOPE!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44498065/ns/health-the_new_york_times/#.Tm9rb-zbzNw

Comments

  • catwink22
    catwink22 Member Posts: 281
    #2
    MSNBC article
    I was so excited when I read this, I hastily just posted the link, but maybe someone will think this is an advertisement. You will see at the end of the article that he isn't the only one with this drastic remission. This is on MSNBC and I am copying the first paragraph:

    "DYING MAN HAS NEW LEASE OF LIFE AFTER HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM IS TRAINED TO KILL CANCER
    'I feel normal, like I did 10 years before I was diagnosed ...This clinical trial saved my life'

    PHILADELPHIA — A year ago, when chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose.
    Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells — a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and tumors — and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins.
    At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst.
    A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia."

    Am I being naive?
  • jimwins
    jimwins Member Posts: 2,107
    #3
    This is reason for hope!
    I copied the transcript from the website. This is reason for hope!

    I honestly believe medicine in general will make a major evolutionary
    jump through genetics and quite possibly with nano-technology in the
    future.

    Thank you

    <>


    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44498065/ns/health-the_new_york_times/#.Tm9rb-zbzNw

    TRANSCRIPT from the website (I don't think it's complete/verbatim):

    as we have been telling you here tonight, there is some good news to report in the fight against cancer, an experimental treatment for leukemia is having extraordinary results beyond any expectations. it's small so far but the results are big enough to get out to the world and tonight as our chief science correspondent robert bazell reports, if it hadn't been for one woman who suffered a loss, this very promising research might not have happened.

    bill ludwig says doctors tell him without the experiment treatment he would have had only weeks to live.

    i'm in full health, no cancer in my system.

    he has gotten the experiment treatment. the results are so spectacular that many believe it could mark the beginning of a major advance in cancer treatment.

    each of those patients, a one or two [pounds?] of tumor was eradicated.

    it removes the blood cells and -- attach to and kill cancer cells and return them to the patients in one infusion.

    how good were those results compared to your expectations?

    the results exceeded our expectations quite a bit. our entire team is really excited. and as well, the patients are excited.

    why only three patients? the research concept was so new that neither the national cancer institute would fund it. she and her husband started a charity to fund new ideas after their daughter-in-law kim died of breast cancer .

    we wanted to do something more, hoped to do something more.

    so here it's just full of leukemia and now it's gone. money from the drug companies is pouring in, not just for further tests on leukemia patients but to try on patients with other cancers. for now, three lives have been saved. robert bazell , nbc news, philadelphia.
  • jimwins
    jimwins Member Posts: 2,107
    #4
    Spoke with my oncologist today
    She said she saw the information and "they" are very excited about it.
    She did go on to add more research/testing needs to be done.

    I had an appointment today prior to admission to the "chemo resort" today.


    Jim
  • bellaFFL
    bellaFFL Member Posts: 15
    #5
    jimwins said:

    Spoke with my oncologist today
    She said she saw the information and "they" are very excited about it.
    She did go on to add more research/testing needs to be done.

    I had an appointment today prior to admission to the "chemo resort" today.


    Jim

    Gave me chills reading these
    Gave me chills reading these little excerpts from the trial! To me, this means there's a slight glimmer of hope even if my BMT doesn't work...
  • jimwins
    jimwins Member Posts: 2,107
    #6
    This article has some more
    This article has some more details:

    http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/ns/today-today_health/t/new-leukemia-treatment-exceeds-wildest-expectations/
  • catwink22
    catwink22 Member Posts: 281
    #7
    jimwins said:

    This article has some more
    This article has some more details:

    http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/ns/today-today_health/t/new-leukemia-treatment-exceeds-wildest-expectations/

    Great article
    Thanks for the info Jim! And thanks to the couple who turned their loss into hope for others too!

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