Paige Brown-Strong
September 11th, 2007
I had chronic myeloid leukemia, which is an uncontrolled division of certain white blood cells. When I was diagnosed in 1999, I was told that the average survival rate was one to three years I was given about a year as my own prognosis. Now, here I am, eight years later, in effect cancer free. Back then I began what was then the only known treatment for this type of leukemia, which was a combination of interferon and chemotherapy. At first it seemed to be working, but as we progressed and got closer to that year mark, I became sicker and sicker and sicker. So I went on line to try to find out about other drugs. The type of leukemia I had was one of the rarer ones, so I did not have a lot of faith that there would be a lot of research committed to it.
But I had a doctor who understood my need to get lots of information, and he kind of indulged all my research, and I found out there were clinical trials for that particular cancer about to go on. And it turned out that I met the criteria to qualify for the trials because my previous therapy was failing. So I went out for one of the trials, in Portland, Oregon—and I still remember the name of the medicine at the time, it was known as STI 571. And it worked! Now that was seven years ago. And if I were to stop taking the drug, the best guess is that the leukemia would come back. People have gone off the drug and the leukemia has returned. But the good news is that the people have gone back ON the drug and the caner has gone into remission, or become undetectable. And this drug has proved that a cancer that was deadly could become one that was, in effect, just a chronic condition that could be managed. To me it is still kind of surreal… but when you tell people about your story, it does open the door for hope for them, so I think it is my job to share my story. I got lucky. Others might get lucky, too.
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