DAVID HAS NEWFOUND HOPE WITH THE HELP OF BREYANZI^®

The letdowns

Over the next couple of years, David went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, 3 rounds of radiation, and 4 lumbar punctures before his doctor gave him the news of being in “full metabolic remission.”

“I’d cycle between sick days and sicker days. I couldn’t even walk around the block or up the stairs because I was so weak. So, when my doctor told me the news, I didn’t really know what it meant. All I heard was ‘full’ and ‘remission.’ I was thrilled.”

Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long. After receiving a bone marrow biopsy, he quickly deflated after hearing the results—he still had cancer in his marrow.

Determined not to fall prey to a negative mindset, David looked for next steps. “I was always committed to pressing on. I prayed for the strength to keep going,” he says.

An allogeneic stem cell transplant was David’s next option. “We couldn’t find a donor right away,” says David, “so I was on maintenance medications to help me tread water while a transplant could be lined up.”

After months of waiting, a donor was finally found, and the transplant was scheduled. Two weeks out from the procedure, David went in for a scan, which revealed 2 new tumors. The location of the tumors proved to be an obstacle for the transplant to move forward. David could no longer go through with the procedure.

“I was too diseased. Finding out that the transplant fell through, well, it was some of the worst news of my life.”

The knocks kept coming

The only option remaining was to use radiation in an attempt to reduce the tumors enough for an autologous transplant, a procedure David’s doctors warned was risky. David agreed to the plan and, once recovered enough, was finally able to get his stem cell transplant. After spending 28 days in the hospital and weeks of hoping for positive results, David had reached remission.

But when David later went in for a scan, he found out his cancer had returned. “My cancer was stronger than I gave it credit for.”

David’s doctors were at a point where they didn’t have a clear treatment direction left for him. “David was pretty much out of options. He’d been given about 6 months to live if he didn’t have another treatment,” says Audrey, David’s wife. His doctor gave him the option of foregoing further treatment, conceding to the cancer, and living his remaining days as comfortably as possible. “Conceding” was not in David’s vocabulary. He told his doctor that he still had too much to live for and would continue the fight.

Life as we know it

David believes that his faith had a part to do with his recovery. It instilled confidence in him, and that confidence was shown to his doctors and those around him. There was a commitment to keep fighting.

David is going to ball games and traveling with his family on vacations. “I felt better after the infusion,” he says.

“I feel indebted to Bristol Myers Squibb because CAR T cell therapy is why I’m here today, living day to day.”

If there is one thing David wants others to know, it’s to commit yourself to pursue every reasonable opportunity to get better.