Stanford Health Care’s Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and Cellular Therapy program hosted its 35th annual patient reunion last weekend. The celebration of life brought together over 400 patients, along with their loved ones, providers, clinicians, and support staff. "Our BMT reunion celebrates life, rekindles friendships, and re-energizes our staff," stated Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) member David Miklos, MD, PhD, Division Chief and Program Director of the Stanford BMT and Cell Therapy Program.
"You may have noticed that we changed the name of our program to include Cell Therapy in our mission. We are the BMT and Cell therapy program and have a revolutionary new cancer treatment called CAR-T or Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy... Our first CAR-T therapy [patient] was infused in February 2016, and this month we celebrated our 500th adult patient CAR-T treatment... Before CAR-T patients with multiple relapsed chemotherapy refractory lymphoma had a very poor prognosis with a 10% one-year survival. Now, these same lymphoma patients have an 80% or more one-year survival," stated Miklos.
This year's reunion included CAR-T therapy recipients for the first time, like patient Tom Colton. “Life is really good. I am so grateful for the compassionate care I received from all the staff at Stanford BMT.”
The joyful event was emceed by Theresa Latchford, RN. Speakers included SCI member Sally Arai, MD; Torey Benoit, RN; and SCI member David Miklos, MD, PhD. Eight patients shared their personal stories, filled with hope, optimism, encouragement, and gratitude for their caregivers and the Stanford BMT & Cell Therapy team.
David Occhipinti, who is also affectionately known as "Numero Uno", was the first BMT patient treated in 1987. After being told that he had two weeks to live, David said "Doc, I’m going to beat this thing." "Well 35 years later, I’m still here, and I would like to say: it’s very important to have that positive attitude. I will be forever grateful to the doctors, nurses, and staff that supported me during my very difficult ordeal.”
“After being told there was a 1 in 100,000th chance of it happening, I am now at 5 months pregnant with our first child. The only reason we are all here is because you chose the profession you did, and you made sure that even at times when we felt like giving up, you were there holding our hands. You were there for us when our family members couldn’t come to the hospital. And you became a part of our family for a very long period of time. I am so thankful for what you have done for us,” stated Ashleigh Karkazis.
Among the patients in attendance included Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney, Charles (Charlie) Huang. Charlie underwent an allogeneic transplant in 2019. After witnessing firsthand how difficult it was to find a match, Charlie was determined to increase the BMT donor pool so more patients could live. Charlie, along with the help of others, drafted California Assembly Bill 1800 to do just that. Last week, Governor Newsom signed the bill into law. Charlie’s Law now offers 18 to 40-year-old Californians applying for or renewing their California driver’s license to be a bone marrow donor by checking a box, much like organ donation. Charlie’s Law will ensure that no patient waiting for a bone marrow transplant will hear that they have no options.
"I thank you all for joining our celebration of life today, and we look forward to next year," closed Dr. Miklos.
October 2022 - By Sarah Pelta