World Cancer Day: Stem cell therapy at Montreal hospital gives father second chance at life

“I would not have survived,” says former MUHC cancer patient Raymond Cheslock, who received treatment in Montreal. He reflects on his journey during World Cancer Day. Tehosterihens Deer reports.

Raymond Cheslock, a father of two, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019. After undergoing a round of chemotherapy at a hospital near his home in Ottawa, it failed to put him into remission.

Cheslock couldn’t help but think of the worst — that the chance of ever seeing his daughter get married, for instance, seemed slim.

But everything changed when he was referred to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).

The team at the MUHC informed him he was very ill but had a 35 per cent chance of remission if another round of chemotherapy was successful. The likelihood of his cancer returning remained very high, and his only hope for a cure was a lifesaving stem cell transplant, which he received on his birthday in May 2020.

“It was a very moving experience if I could put it that way,” Cheslock said. “To be able to go through it and make it through the other side. You know, if there’s one thing I would encourage anybody with cancer of any kind is don’t give up on your first diagnosis. Just because somebody tells you something, that doesn’t have to be your reality. You know, get a second opinion. That’s what I did and that’s why I’m still there.”

The highly specialized lifesaving procedure — replacing a patient’s bone marrow and immune system with healthy donor cells — turned what had once seemed like a death sentence into a new beginning.

Now on World Cancer Day, Cheslock is opening up and sharing his story of survival.

“In the grand scheme of things, honestly, it will sound kind of weird to say that, but if I had to do it over again, had the choice to do it over again, and I knew that the outcome would be the same, I would do it over again,” Cheslock told CityNews.

“You don’t realize what you can get through until you’ve been through it.”

Medical advancements

Cheslock credits the tireless efforts made at the MUHC’s Cellular Therapy Laboratory as advancements in medicine helped him remain cancer free today. Medical professionals say the same advancements hold promise for other diseases, like heart disease and brain injuries.

McGill University Health Centre (Glen Site) Liquid Biopsy Laboratory in Montreal Tehosterihens Deer/CityNews Image

“There’s so many good things happening right now in medicine,” he said. “We’re making strides, things that I would not have lived 10 years ago. I would not have survived, and now I’m a survivor.

“Have faith in the system and do your part and let the system do its part.”

Dr. Gizelle Popradi, Cheslock’s doctor, tells CityNews via email the significance stem cells have on saving patients’ lives.

“Stem cells are incredible,” explained Dr. Popradi. “They’re smart. Once infused, they know to travel to the bone marrow and begin producing healthy blood cells. Within weeks, we start to see signs of success.”

“Since my residency, I’ve been amazed by the strides we’ve taken in treating blood cancers. The development of better medications and techniques has changed the landscape entirely. It’s wonderful to see patients not just survive but thrive.”

While visiting the MUHC Foundation, CityNews connected with Dr. Julia Burnier at the Research Institute of the MUHC and though she didn’t treat Cheslock, her work is helping shape the future of cancer care.

“I think we’re in a really exciting time because never before have we had innovation and technological advances growing so rapidly, so things that were not possible even five years ago now are becoming routine,” Burnier said.

Dr. Julia Burnier at the Research Institute of the MUHC in Montreal. Tehosterihens Deer/CityNews Image

“I think we’re moving towards much more personalized care. So it used to be that we treat patients for example in a one-size-fits-all approach. So all cancer patients or patients with a particular type of cancer would be treated in similar ways. But we know that in fact disease is very different in different patients.

“And so having an ability to be able to treat a patient in a personalized way or something we call precision oncology, meaning we have the right treatment for that patient at the right time, is really the direction we’re moving in.”

Revolutionary new tool

One of the tools medical professionals now have access to within precision oncology is an approach called liquid biopsy. It involves noninvasively sampling biofluids like the blood or urine or saliva to monitor a patient’s disease.

“And so within these liquid biopsies, we can look for cancer cells,” Dr. Burnier explained. “We can look for DNA that comes from those cancer cells. And it gives us a view of the patient’s disease. So it’s a much more personalized way to care for each patient.”

Burnier says the liquid biopsy process is being used once a patient is diagnosed with cancer.

“We can take these liquid biopsies, these biofluids, and look for ways to see the type of disease that they have and what’s the best treatment and best course of action,” Burnier said.

“But I think in the future we will use it for diagnostics as well as a screening program where we can take a routine blood sample, for example, or a saliva sample, and see what the patient’s health looks like.”

Donation matching campaign

Cheslock’s story was featured by the MUHC Foundation, with president and CEO Marie-Hélène Laramée saying stories like his are very powerful for others.

For World Cancer Day, Laramée says the MUHC Foundation is accepting contributions on their website to help advance cancer care, with each donation being matched dollar for dollar by Ferron Campbell, MD Heritage — part of their campaign goal of raising $35 million.

MUHC Foundation president and CEO Marie-Hélène Laramée in Montreal. Tehosterihens Deer/CityNews Image

“It’s really a day to come together as a community,” Laramée said. “We all know somebody who is fighting cancer, who has been diagnosed, who will be diagnosed.”

Cheslock is reminding those dealing with a diagnosis to remain positive and strong.

“My wife and I, we just really wanted me to live. I didn’t want to die, and given a chance to fight, I fought.

“I think we all live with something in our rear-view mirror. Those of us who have had cancer, we know what’s in the rear-view mirror.”

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