H E


Sylvester treats the most complex and challenging


cases in the region. Nearly 50% of our patients have been treated elsewhere, but turn to Sylvester when cancer returns or persists..


conducted to discover INNOVATIVE treatments


When Karen DeGray was diagnosed with an uncommon and aggressive type of lymphoma, her oncologist recommended she head to New York for treatment—a bone marrow transplant. But Karen wanted other options. “I didn’t want to be very sick, and then die,” she said. Instead of heading to the Big Apple, she was referred to Izidore Lossos,


Izidore Lossos, M.D. Professor of Medicine


M.D., a renowned hematologist and director of the Lymphoma Program at Sylvester. Karen’s first appointment proved to be her saving grace. Dr. Lossos had a clinical trial for mantle cell lymphoma, and Karen became the first subject on the trial. Of the 22 patients who completed the study, all went into remission, and very few have relapsed. Although the treatment was difficult, including a six-week hospital stint, the result was worth it.


After the first four rounds of treatment, tests showed Karen no longer had detectable lymphoma. Karen’s advice to newly diagnosed cancer patients is not to panic. “There are many people out there who are well and have cancer.” The married mother of three and grandmother of five remains cancer-free more than five years after diagnosis.


THE MAGAZINE OF SYLVESTER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER


17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36