Latest news with #Car-T
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
South India's longest-know Car-T therapy survivors in Bengaluru return to daily life
Bengaluru: Two of South India's longest-known survivors of Car-T cell therapy are now regaining strength and embracing their return to everyday life. Rehan, 43, and Parimala, 66, (names changed) shared their emotional and inspiring recovery journeys with reporters during an event hosted by Narayana Health City last week. Rehan, who was diagnosed with stage 3 follicular lymphoma, said he had exhausted all conventional treatment options before turning to Car-T therapy, a type of treatment that uses the patient's own genetically modified T-cells. "I was mentally prepared — both my parents were cancer patients. I didn't need counselling. I was ready to fight for the sake of my family," he said. Having endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy and several relapses, Rehan opted for Car-T therapy in Nov 2022. Today, he is in his 31st month of remission. "Unlike chemotherapy, Car-T didn't have the severe side-effects. No hair loss, no nausea, no psychological trauma from physical changes. I was immunocompromised, yes, and had to avoid crowds, but I've got back to 80-85% of my pre-cancer energy levels," he said. The treatment involved two cycles of palliative chemotherapy followed by a 30-day hospital stay, during which he received the Car-T cell infusion and was kept under observation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Undo PET CT scans have since consistently shown that the disease remains in remission. "There's no daily medication now. I work in sales and marketing, and live a fairly normal life," he added. He did, however, recall a mild setback: "I caught an infection during Umrah (a non-mandatory Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca), but it was quickly managed by the hospital." Parimala's story, as translated from Tamil by her son-in-law, painted a similarly uplifting picture. Once struggling to move or eat during chemotherapy, she now walks unaided, eats normally, and even assists her daughter in cooking. "She regained the weight she lost during chemo and can now eat a full diet, no longer limited to liquids," he said. Diagnosed with lymphoma in 2018, Parimala initially underwent six chemotherapy cycles in Coimbatore, relapsing two years later and enduring another six cycles before opting for Car-T therapy. Dr Sharat Damodar, senior consultant haematologist and lead researcher at Narayana Health City, noted that both patients were among over 20 enrolled in the centre's Immunil Car-T therapy trial launched three years ago. "If I look back at South India, these are the longest surviving patients post Car-T therapy. We're preparing to launch myeloma trials next, along with second-phase trials for leukaemia and lymphoma across more centres," he said. Dr Nitin Manjunath, director at Narayana Health City, said: "We're in discussions with insurance providers and govt bodies, including the Karnataka govt, to include Car-T therapy in reimbursement schemes. All treatments at Narayana are currently covered under Narayana Health Insurance," he added.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Blackpool athlete's 'long Covid' turned out to be terminal cancer
A former triathlete whose terminal cancer was initially mistaken for long Covid has been given months to live. Olivia Knowles, from Blackpool, noticed something "wasn't quite correct" in August 2023 while competing in the Half Ironman World Championship in Lahti, two-mile swim and 56-mile cycle went smoothly but added she "just wasn't able to push as hard as [she] normally would" during the 13-mile (20-km) run to the finish 33-year-old went to a private doctor in November 2023 and was told it was "very likely to be long Covid", before extreme toothache days later prompted an emergency hospital visit and a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). She said that after a series of relapses and months of treatment over the course of last year, she received a stem cell transplant in December and was declared just a week later, in early March this year, Ms Knowles was given the "bitter" news the leukaemia had hair salon owner, whose "typical weekend" before her diagnosis involved 100-mile bike rides and 15-mile runs, walked 20 miles around Fairhaven Lake on 16 March to raise funds for clinical research at King's College said she hoped any donations would improve research on AML, a particularly aggressive cancer which, she said, had not seen any "solid advancements" in treatment for 50 years."I always thought that relapse would be a real possibility, but obviously, I just didn't expect it to be so soon," she said."All I really miss now is going to work and training. That's all I want – just my normal day and my normal routine."It might sound odd to some people, but I would just love to take the dog for a run and go to work, more than anything."With AML, she explained: "Even if there's a speck of it left, it just regrows."And what regrows is basically the resistant cells, the ones that have evaded and resisted the previous chemo."Ms Knowles' consultant at Blackpool Victoria Hospital had given her three options – try to get a transplant despite her relapse, join a clinical trial, or "do nothing".In November, after various unsuccessful trials, Olivia was given a novel Car-T treatment – immunotherapy which genetically modifies a patient's T-cells to attack cancer. The treatment at King's College Hospital in London was followed by the stem cell transplant."The initial bone marrow findings were excellent," she said."There were no signs of disease. It was a really positive result at first."Last month, she was readmitted with gut issues, a common side effect of stem cell transplants, but blood tests "showed active disease".Ms Knowles said her consultant was "blindsided" by her relapse, because the transplant had gone so home with her mum Susan and dad Stephen, she decided "on a little bit of a whim" to walk a marathon around Fairhaven Lake to raise funds for the clinical research team at King' former triathlete was forced to stop after 20 miles but still raised more than £25, hopes the money would contribute to "solid advancements", saying the team at King's were "on the cusp of something excellent with their development of Car-T treatment for AML"."For them to have something that can help treat children, it gives you a bit more hope," she said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
