I am a 2-time Lymphoma survivor and I have made it my mission to give back to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) in appreciation for their efforts in finding cures to Blood Cancers. Since 2018, I have been fundraising for this charity through an annual comedy night, raising over $70,000 CAD in the process.
In 2019, I was diagnosed for the second time with Lymphoma and treatment options were becoming very limited. After doing a round of GDP chemotherapy, my cancer tumors were barely affected. At this point, my oncologist had very few paths to treat my disease. She could try a different type of chemotherapy with the hope of < 30% chance of success, or she could see if I was a candidate for a revolutionary therapy called CAR-T Cell (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy. This therapy was showing a lot of promise with similar patients but was not yet available in my home province of Ontario, Canada. My only option to get this therapy was to go to the United States where the treatment cost >$750,000 USD, on top of living and hospitalization expenses.
As an alternative, my oncologist suggested I could participate in a CAR-T Cell trial happening at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Toronto, Canada. After being accepted into the trial, my T-cells were harvested on June 12, 2019, and shipped to California, US where they would be modified. CAR-T cell process takes a patient’s T-cells, part of the body’s immune system, and attaches a protein chain that helps them to identify and target the unique cancer cells in the patient. This protein acts as the key in identifying only cancerous cells in his body and kills them. These cells are grown in the lab to ensure there is enough to treat the cancer, frozen and then sent back to PMH where they will be reintroduced into my blood stream though an IV tube.
On July 15, 2019, with these CAR-T cells now infused in me, my immune system started fighting my cancer. For the next two weeks, I stayed in hospital while being very closely monitored as my body went through a cytokine storm as it killed off the cancer cells. After two weeks, I was able to leave the hospital but needed to stay within one hour of it in case there were any major symptoms that might arise. After one month, I returned to Ottawa and begin to rebuild my life, cancer free. Five years later, I am proud to say that I am still symptom free and living life normally, as I did prior to my diagnosis.
FRAMOS has been a large supporter of my fundraising activities over the years. What makes this year’s fundraising efforts so important is that the LLSC is funding a trial, right in my hometown, to create a process for creating CAR-T cells that can be built by and used in smaller cancer centres at a much lower cost. This would make this amazing treatment more available to everyone while reducing its cost to $50,000-$100,000 CAD per treatment.
You can read more about my cancer journey on my blog site at bessettefamily.com. To learn more about my fundraising, participate in the next comedy night or donate to this cause, visit my foundation’s website at laughter4cancer.com.
