Patient with Advanced Aggressive Lymphoma Achieves Remission
In 2017, Manuel Lucas was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that begins in the white blood cells (lymphocytes) of the blood.
[Video is in Spanish.]
“I went from 170 pounds to 95. I thought I was going to die,” says Lucas, 50, originally from Ecuador. However, he continued forward with the support of Juan Pablo Alderuccio, M.D., a hematologist-oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
“Manuel had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is characterized by rapid growth,” says Dr. Alderuccio. “The lymphoma was very aggressive and its response was partial to several lines of treatment: chemotherapy, radiation, allogeneic bone marrow transplant and CAR-T cell therapy.”
The disease spread to Lucas’s liver and several lymph nodes. In light of this progress, at the end of 2018, Dr. Alderuccio decided to contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a pharmaceutical company to gain access to a compassionate use drug that was not yet approved.
Lucas received the treatment, but his body did not respond.
“I continued to make a great effort for my family, for my children, who were still very young, and I wanted to see them grow,” he says.
Fortunately, in 2019, Lucas’s prognosis improved thanks to a new therapy available at Sylvester. “We started an oral medication that activates the immune system and makes it attack the lymphoma,” says Dr. Alderuccio. “In total, seven lines of treatment were used until the disease was controlled and Manuel was able to return to his normal life. Today he is in remission, with no signs of cancer.”
“When the medicines started to work, I had a lot of hope and I was very happy. The diet also helped me, because at first I couldn’t eat. I felt much better,” Lucas says.
Because Sylvester is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, it can gain early access to other therapies available through clinical trials, which can make a difference when conventional treatments don’t produce the expected results.
According to Dr. Alderuccio, the prognosis for hematologic cancers has improved greatly in recent years, thanks to the development of potentially more effective and less toxic cell therapies and compounds. He also warns that the treatment of lymphoma will depend on the initial diagnosis, so go to medical centers with the necessary experience to ensure you receive an accurate diagnosis.
Sylvester has a multidisciplinary team made up of hematologists, hematopathologists, and radiologists specialized in the treatment of lymphoma. Studies show that when patients go to specialized cancer centers, they get better results.
“I always had a lot of faith in Sylvester. I thank the entire medical team for their care and everything they did for me. Today I am cancer-free,” says Lucas.
Article and video written and produced by Shirley Ravachi for ‘Cuidando Su Salud’, a series of stories related to health care that air regularly on Telemundo 51. For more stories like this, visit the UHealth YouTube channel.
Tags: Blood Cancer, Dr. Juan Pablo Alderuccio, Hematologist Oncologist, Lymphocytes, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
