August 13, 2019
Patient experiences – three inspiring stories
Every person working in cell therapies and gene therapies does so for the potential to improve patients’ lives. Emily Whitehead, now seven years cancer-free and the first pediatric patient to receive CAR-T cell therapy, has helped lead the way for a growing number of other patients whose stories provide further inspiration. Here are three of their stories.
Colton Matter
Since being diagnosed at age nine, Colton Matter has relapsed and fought back in his battle against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) for almost a decade. His CAR-T therapy in 2013 has been of great importance to his ongoing remission. Vineti was honored to help sponsor Colton’s family to attend the Emily Whitehead Foundation’s Believe Ball, and we are thrilled to see his continued success. Now at the age of 18, Colton is active in his ongoing journey as a research advocate and fundraising, starting his sophomore year as a college student at Cascadia College, and working at Costco.
Through his work at Colton’s Army — a “movement of prayer warriors and supports who came together to LOVE a cancer hero named Colton,” Colton and his supporters have raised significant funding for Seattle Children’s Hospital. To learn more and follow along, visit https://www.coltonsarmy.org.
Tanis Milicevic
The mother of two young children, Tanis Milicevic had been watching her cell count for close to 12 years after the initial remission of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma from chemotherapy. Just over a year ago in June 2018, she received CAR-T cell therapy and now has no detectable trace cancer cells. For the first time since her youngest son was born, the family looks forward to finally planning ahead for the longer-term future. (We’re also excited to see that Tanis was treated at Mayo Clinic — an early co-founder and partner to Vineti.)
Nick Wilkin
Like so many other patients with ALL., Nick Wilkin’s struggled to beat back his cancer with many treatments over many years, starting at the age of just four-and-a-half years old. After receiving CAR-T cell therapy in 2013, Nick has undergone a tremendous remission. This year will be his final year at James Madison University as he looks ahead to what the future holds beyond his graduation next spring! See a glimpse of Nick’s story leading up to and participating as Patient #15 in a landmark CAR-T trial by watching his #10years10stories video.
Vineti is proud to have helped manage thousands of cell therapy treatments on behalf of patients. Our software platform makes coordination, delivery, and traceability of these cell therapies, gene therapies, and neoantigens possible…safely. If you’d like to see our platform in action, please contact us to schedule a demo.