2022可能性があります。 Matthew is a 27-year-old patient with 急性リンパ芽球性白血病 who was diagnosed in 2015. Unfortunately, the standard treatment of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation failed. He qualified for a clinical trial at London’s Kings College Hospital, where he underwent CAR-T療法. Matthew shares his personal story about how this groundbreaking treatment saved his life. “I’m concerned that blast cells make up almost half of your bone marrow.” After undergoing UKALL14 induction, two rounds of FLAG-Ida, and a non-related donor bone marrow transplant to treat your acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, that’s not exactly the news you want to hear.
とにかく、これが私が聞いた言葉でした。 私はイライラするのではなく、どうすればこの課題を解決できるかをすぐに考え始めました。 周りの人たちは唖然とし動揺していましたが、私はこれを挑戦として受け止めました。
Except for the pioneering CAR-T療法 I had heard so much about in the press, I disregarded all of my options after being presented with them. This was not only the treatment I desired, but it was also the treatment I required! The only issue was that it was still in phase one and two clinical trials, the majority of which were in the United States and cost roughly £500,000, all of which had to be paid for by the patient!
I was recommended to two doctors who were conducting clinical trials, but neither of them were appropriate for me. Meanwhile, I was taking vincristine and prednisone to keep the disease at bay. My consultant worked hard to put together a protocol and ensure the proper care was in place for me to receive ブリナツモマブ, but it was not to be.
I found a link to the Leukemia & リンパ腫 Society in the United States after doing a lot of research and contacting many relevant people. I went to the website and discovered that there was an immediate chat facility. I typed in a message describing my condition and my desire for CAR-T therapy. I received a response within a few minutes, much to my amazement. A trial was running in London, according to the message, and there was a link to the experiment on the clinical trials website! It was unbelievable!
The study was headquartered in London, and I appeared to be eligible based on the description. I recognized the lead doctor’s name and emailed him.
メールを書いたのが土曜日の午後だったので、返事は翌週になるとは思っていませんでしたが、即日に返事が来て嬉しい驚きでした。 そこには、私が適しているように見えるが、保証はできないこと、この治療法は他の治療法ではなくドナーT細胞を使用するため非常に実験的であると記載されていました。
I got a bone marrow biopsy and various blood tests to confirm I met the study criteria after some conversation between the trial doctor and my specialists. All of the tests revealed that I was eligible for the trial, which gave me great relief.
しかし、もう一つ障害がありました。 ビンクリスチンとプレドニンを服用していたときに、抗真菌薬による予防薬が投与されました。 私の肝酵素測定値の XNUMX つが、試験の許容範囲を超えていました。 残念ながら、私はそのポジションを失いましたが、その後 XNUMX 週間で肝臓の酵素レベルが改善し、幸運にも次のポジションをオファーされることができました。
ロンドンのキングス カレッジ病院に到着したとき、CAR-T 細胞に備えて体を整えるために XNUMX 日間の化学療法を受けました。 その後、翌日細胞を受け取るまで一日休みました。 すべての積み重ねを経て、それは私にとって素晴らしい瞬間でした。 これらの細胞が私のPICCラインに注入されるのを見ていると、それらの細胞が私の人生を取り戻す鍵になるかもしれないという希望が湧き上がってきました。
There had been no trace of activity from the cells for about a week. Then, about a week after the infusion, I had a fever. Only paracetamol was able to reduce the fever, which lasted for several days. When my temperature began to rise as the paracetamol wore off, I remember it being uncomfortable but not unbearable.
After experiencing pain in my lower abdomen a few days later, I was referred for an ultrasound. I developed appendicitis, to everyone’s surprise! I was anaemic, neutropenic, and had a low platelet count at this point, so operating was dangerous, but a ruptured appendix was also not ideal.
The surgeons and the haematology physicians had a brief chat. Haematology wanted to give me antibiotics to see if it would help my appendix settle down because they thought it was a side effect of the CAR-T cells, but the surgeons wanted to operate.
集中治療室に移されました。 うだるような暖かさの中でそこに行き、湿ったペーパータオルで涼しさを保とうとしていたことを思い出します。 集中治療室に到着したとき、私は眠っていましたが、数時間後には体温が上昇して目が覚めるだろうと完全に予想していました。 しかし、私の体温は正常のままでした。 医師たちは、翌朝私を訪ねてきたとき、私の熱がもう下がっており、脇腹の不快感もなくなっていることに気づき驚いていました。 奇跡の回復を遂げました！
数日後、私は救命救急センターから解放されました。 一週間ほどで手の甲に発疹が出てきました。 さらに数日後、発疹が全身に広がり始めました。 ステロイドの塗り薬を処方されましたが、あまり効果はありませんでした。 かぶれのせいでかなり不快で、掻かないようにするのが大変でした。
I noticed the lower area of my back was swollen and felt full of fluid one weekend. I called the on-call haematologist, who recommended that I go to A&E. I was admitted to the hospital after being examined by a doctor, just a few days ahead of schedule for my second bone marrow transplant. I was given oral steroids, which helped to reduce the rash.
I was finally able to return home after another arduous bone marrow transplant. Since then, I’ve continued to restore my mental and physical health and vigour. I was fortunate enough to avoid significant infections until 11 months after the second transplant, when I acquired a fungal chest infection that required me to return to the hospital for 10 days. Aside from that, I’ve continued to reconstruct my life, returning to work, beginning to exercise, and finding my new normal, which is different from my previous one but equally fantastic!
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to everyone mentioned in this narrative. Everyone that helped me, including my family and friends,. All of the doctors, nurses, and medical personnel who looked after me. All of the scientists and researchers who contributed to the development of the drugs and therapies I received. All blood donors, my two stem cell donors, and those who donate to and work for the organizations that create the stem cell registry.
