CiCi Rojas is an active civic leader who owns a production company with her husband Oscar. They travel all over the country handling big sports clients and are always on the go. But when her energy levels dropped significantly…she knew something was up. She called her doctor and after a battery of tests her fears were confirmed. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of lymphoma. It was so aggressive it was taking over her whole body. After 6 rounds of chemo, her cancer appeared to be gone…but just a few months later it was back. But the news wasn’t all bad.
Her doctors at The University of Kansas Cancer Center told her that she qualified for a clinical trial—and underwent what’s called CAR-T therapy. It involves taking out the patient’s immune cells and adding an anti-cancer gene to them in the lab. Those new cells are put back into the patient’s body, where they behave like Pac-Man going after the cancer cells and killing them. After 30 days, CiCi was cancer free.
In the video, Dr. Sid Ganguly with The University of Kansas Cancer Center describes CiCi’s aggressive cancer, and how the chemotherapy didn’t do the job. He explains how Car-T Therapy works and CiCi’s amazing result, which more and more patients are experiencing.
Also in the video, CiCi Rojas describes when she first noticed something wrong. She talks about the shock of hearing that she had cancer, and the tough 30 days she spent waiting in the hospital before hearing the great news that her cancer was gone. She says it’s important to take your health in your own hands, ask questions, find out if you qualify for any groundbreaking trials…it might just save your life. Also, CiCi’s husband, Oscar Monterroso, describes his wife’s condition. He says the cancer made them feel like they were in a long dark tunnel, but thanks to the groundbreaking CAR-T treatment, they were able to see the light at the end of that tunnel.
The video also has b-roll of patients receiving CAR-T therapy, plus video of CiCi in the doctor’s office, and photos of the two on the job.