33 Owen, Terry’s Team Member and cancer survivor O Owen was a typical kid in Grade 10. His days were spent hanging with friends, gaming, and playing with his dog, Ronald. Owen was also an elite volleyball player, who was always train- ing and perfecting his skills. So when he first noticed the lump on his thigh, Owen assumed it was a sports injury. It wasn’t. It was Hodgkin lymphoma. A follow-up scan showed the cancer cells had already spread to his neck. Why don’t we have a cure yet? We haven’t discovered a “cure” for can- cer because cancer is a complex dis- ease. But thanks to research, many types of cancer now have significantly better outcomes than they did just a few years ago. Although not every discovery is head- line news, breakthroughs are happen- ing all the time. Because they tend to come in small increments, they may not appear to have a direct impact on patient care or outcomes. Make no mistake: these discoveries absolutely do increase our understanding of the 200+ diseases we call cancer, even if they’re not “eureka” moments for peo- ple outside the scientific community. Each new bit of information adds another rung to the ladder leading us to faster, more precise detection, diag- noses, and treatments. Lymphoma is one of those success stories. Lymphomas begin in the lymphatic system (an essential part of the body’s disease-fighting immune system) when healthy cells mutate and grow out of control. Researchers are exploring novel ways to harness the immune sys- tem to destroy cancer cells. For example, immune cells can be har- vested from the patient, genetically modified to recognize a specific protein on the cancer cell, then put back into the body to find and kill those cells. Twenty years ago, this might have sounded like science fiction. Today, it’s called immunotherapy and it’s one of the most promising areas in cancer research. That said, it doesn’t work with every patient or with every cancer. Researchers like Dr. Laura Evgin want to know why. Dr. Evgin is an early-career scientist at BC Cancer Research Institute and an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. “There’s so much excitement around this immunotherapy. And clinically, it’s been very effective,” says Dr. Evgin. “However, there are many patients who fail to respond.” Dr. Evgin recently received a $450,000 Terry Fox New Investigator Award to study why some patients fail to respond to this therapy, particularly in cases where the cancer cells have spread beyond the lymph nodes. Whatever Dr. Evgin discovers, it will add more rungs to the ladder of our understanding not just of lymphomas, but of leveraging immunotherapy as a way to treat other cancers, too. An investment in hope and healing In the meantime, thanks to this kind of pioneering research, the survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma has increased more than 26% since 1975. Today, if you’re under the age of 50 at diagnosis, your 5-year survival rate is more than 95%.1 In Owen’s case, it’s been almost three years since his diagnosis. The first year was especially rough. His treatments were exhausting with gruelling chemo- therapy sessions that sometimes lasted the entire day. In addition to all the needles (Owen hates needles), there were countless pills to swallow. He developed painful canker sores. And he quickly lost his hair. Owen jokes, “Fortunately, I have a nicely shaped head and a good selection of toques!” In a poignant show of solidarity, Owen’s dad and his best friend shaved their heads. “I was especially worried that I’d fall behind in school,” Owen remembers. But he persevered, in part because he was inspired by Terry Fox. “Terry was a superhero. Many give up when things get tough, but Terry didn’t.” Owen didn’t either. “I knew that I had to get strong and keep up with the treatments, no matter what.” This past spring, Owen graduated high school. He started playing vol- Cancer Research Works, Owen is Living Proof PROFILE
