Cancer clinical trial success stories?

[Anonymous]

Jimmy Carter got immunotherapy for cancer; not sure if it was part of a trial but it went well for him and he has survived far longer than expected. My brother had proton radiation when it was still experimental (at least according to the insurance company we had to fight to get it approved) and he has been NED for many years with fewer aftereffects than traditional radiation to the brain often causes.

[Anonymous]

Yes - Duke professor and author, Kate Bowler:

“Bowler was diagnosed in 2015 with stage IV colon cancer that had already metastasized. She's married, has a young son and can't bear the thought of him growing up without her. What's kept her alive in addition to colon surgery and chemo is experimental immunotherapy treatments that helped shrink her tumors.”

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/585066841/a-stage-4-cancer-patient-shares-the-pain-and-clarity-of-living-scan-to-scan#:~:text=Bowler%20was%20diagnosed%20in%202015,that%20helped%20shrink%20her%20tumors.

She details her experience seeking (advocating for) and receiving the immunotherapy treatments in her second book, “No Cure for Being Human.” She’s an amazing writer and a seriously smart, thoughtful, and funny person, both in writing and on her podcast. Her first book (“Everything Happens for a Reason”) was beyond fabulous, too - definitely the place to start!

One caveat - her books have a strong thread of Christian faith running through them, though not at all in a way I found off-putting, though I am an atheist Jew. Personally, I found her references to her faith to be thought-provoking and even relatable, though my faith obviously differs from hers. She’s awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes - Duke professor and author, Kate Bowler:

“Bowler was diagnosed in 2015 with stage IV colon cancer that had already metastasized. She's married, has a young son and can't bear the thought of him growing up without her. What's kept her alive in addition to colon surgery and chemo is experimental immunotherapy treatments that helped shrink her tumors.”

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/585066841/a-stage-4-cancer-patient-shares-the-pain-and-clarity-of-living-scan-to-scan#:~:text=Bowler%20was%20diagnosed%20in%202015,that%20helped%20shrink%20her%20tumors.

She details her experience seeking (advocating for) and receiving the immunotherapy treatments in her second book, “No Cure for Being Human.” She’s an amazing writer and a seriously smart, thoughtful, and funny person, both in writing and on her podcast. Her first book (“Everything Happens for a Reason”) was beyond fabulous, too - definitely the place to start!

One caveat - her books have a strong thread of Christian faith running through them, though not at all in a way I found off-putting, though I am an atheist Jew. Personally, I found her references to her faith to be thought-provoking and even relatable, though my faith obviously differs from hers. She’s awesome!

I love this!!! ty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes - Duke professor and author, Kate Bowler:

“Bowler was diagnosed in 2015 with stage IV colon cancer that had already metastasized. She's married, has a young son and can't bear the thought of him growing up without her. What's kept her alive in addition to colon surgery and chemo is experimental immunotherapy treatments that helped shrink her tumors.”

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/585066841/a-stage-4-cancer-patient-shares-the-pain-and-clarity-of-living-scan-to-scan#:~:text=Bowler%20was%20diagnosed%20in%202015,that%20helped%20shrink%20her%20tumors.

She details her experience seeking (advocating for) and receiving the immunotherapy treatments in her second book, “No Cure for Being Human.” She’s an amazing writer and a seriously smart, thoughtful, and funny person, both in writing and on her podcast. Her first book (“Everything Happens for a Reason”) was beyond fabulous, too - definitely the place to start!

One caveat - her books have a strong thread of Christian faith running through them, though not at all in a way I found off-putting, though I am an atheist Jew. Personally, I found her references to her faith to be thought-provoking and even relatable, though my faith obviously differs from hers. She’s awesome!

btw (also op) it's really sweet of you to take the time to write this and I REALLY appreciate it - ty

[Anonymous]

By the time you get to thus point, the idea is being helpful to science when facing your mortality. It isn't really a hope for a cure.

I have a child with an incurable disease and we entered a clinical trial knowing that it wouldn't benefit him, but it would, and did, push the science forward. A drug did get approved as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes - Duke professor and author, Kate Bowler:

“Bowler was diagnosed in 2015 with stage IV colon cancer that had already metastasized. She's married, has a young son and can't bear the thought of him growing up without her. What's kept her alive in addition to colon surgery and chemo is experimental immunotherapy treatments that helped shrink her tumors.”

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/12/585066841/a-stage-4-cancer-patient-shares-the-pain-and-clarity-of-living-scan-to-scan#:~:text=Bowler%20was%20diagnosed%20in%202015,that%20helped%20shrink%20her%20tumors.

She details her experience seeking (advocating for) and receiving the immunotherapy treatments in her second book, “No Cure for Being Human.” She’s an amazing writer and a seriously smart, thoughtful, and funny person, both in writing and on her podcast. Her first book (“Everything Happens for a Reason”) was beyond fabulous, too - definitely the place to start!

One caveat - her books have a strong thread of Christian faith running through them, though not at all in a way I found off-putting, though I am an atheist Jew. Personally, I found her references to her faith to be thought-provoking and even relatable, though my faith obviously differs from hers. She’s awesome!

I love this!!! ty

I’m so glad! I listened to the first back when it came out (before I was diagnosed with cancer myself … ) and the second when I was at home, recovering from my surgery.

I listened to both on audio, which I especially recommend. Her narration is fabulous - you can hear in her voice the warmth of her personality and the complexities of her feelings, including a ton of amusement along with her worry, frustration, and grief. Almost like hanging out with a very smart and compassionate friend when I needed her most. (I still think of her as my virtual cancer friend. 😂)