LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — THV11 is proud to announce a new partnership with UAMS to help cover the fight against all cancers and the search for treatments.
One Arkansas man, who suffers from leukemia and lymphoma, showed us how two chance encounters that happened years apart are the reasons he’s alive today.
Thomas Wages walks with ease, though still a bit slowly. Though, he’s already come a long way since first learning he suffers from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).
CLL is a combination of leukemia, a blood cancer, and lymphoma which affects the lymph nodes.
Thomas said it’s a diagnosis that might not have happened if his daughter hadn't urged him to get a free screening with her medical group. He recalled when he first heard the news from a doctor.
“He tells me results from my blood test and that I need to see an Oncologist,” he said.
The startling news left Thomas thinking only one thing.
“I didn't know anything. When you hear the word leukemia or cancer. I've mentioned most people are, are the same when they hear that it's almost, it's like you're gonna die, you know, you're gonna die," he described.
Thankfully, Thomas did not die, though he did spend more than a decade on and off in treatment at a clinic in Little Rock. He would get better, only for the cancer to come back.
Finally, he chose to get another opinion, from the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
This second chance meeting brought him to Dr. Muthu Kumaran, an oncologist and director of the stem cell transplant and cellular treatment at the center.
Dr. Kumaran said that Thomas’ illness had been going on for so long, there were not many treatment options left.
"When Thomas was referred to me from a local oncology group in Little Rock, Thomas had a long-standing history of this chronic leukemia and lymphoma. It's kind of an overlap between leukemia and lymphoma. He had exhausted pretty much most of the approved treatment options for this diagnosis of chronic leukemia and lymphoma," he explained.
By then, Thomas said the disease had become painful for him, not just physically. He didn’t like what he saw in the mirror.
He shared a picture with us that showed the reality of his swollen lymph nodes, which caused extensive swelling in his face.
In another picture, he showed what he looks like after he started taking a medication prescribed by Dr. Kumaran— and the dramatic swelling was gone.
It’s called Copiktra with the generic name Duvelisib. Though not without its risks, you can see the clear difference it’s made for a chronic patient like Thomas.
For Thomas, that was a low point in his life and one he hopes to never see again.
"I hope to God that I never get like that again. Because it's really, I don't know, I’m hunting for a word that it's really a downer to go through your life looking like that. You can't do anything about it. But when I came here and it all went away, it was like a whole new ballgame," he explained.
Dr. Kumaran said that most patients on the medication see relief for a limited time, as shown in clinical trials, but that Thomas is an inspiration to the entire medical team.
“You know, he's one of the exceptions, I would say that he responded very well and continues to stay in a good responsive state,” he added.
Thomas is considered an unusual success story. Dr. Kumaran said that cases like this Thomas's are inspiring to him and the entire medical team. “So absolutely, it energizes us and our team!”