17
The Cancer Warrior Unleashed
Patient Story
Tish Vigna knew something was very wrong.
While out on a run with her dog, she had chest
pains. She struggled to get home. When she did,
she called an ambulance.
In hospital, staff checked to see if a heart attack
was to blame. Instead, they found a mass on Vigna’s
left lung. Within days, Vigna, a non-smoker, learned
she had Stage 3 lung cancer.
“It was surreal,” says Vigna, recalling the
diagnosis she received at Princess Margaret Cancer
Centre in March 2013.
NEW OPTIONS FOR PATIENTS
Vigna underwent six weeks of chemotherapy
and radiation and after that, surgery – yet her
cancer endured.
More chemotherapy and radiation followed. A
follow-up appointment in January found the cancer
had spread to her right lung, in three locations.
Surgery wasn’t an option. But her doctor hoped
to get Vigna into an international immunotherapy
clinical trial. She ended up being among a handful
Immunotherapy
Offers Hope
Within three
months, the three
tumors had been
reduced by 50
percent.”
“
of Princess Margaret patients who were admitted.
Vigna was then put on a drug designed
to stimulate an immune response.
‘HOPE FOR EVERYBODY’
“Within three months, the three tumors had
been reduced by 50% in size,” says Vigna. And
those tumors haven’t grown any bigger in the 2½
years that have passed since then.
For Vigna, immunotherapy treatments will
continue for the foreseeable future. That’s okay
with her. She and her family are simply grateful
she could participate in the trial.
Her experience so far with immunotherapy
has left her optimistic about what the future of
cancer treatment holds for patients like her. “We
are going somewhere in science … and there’s
hope for everybody out there,” she says.
She’s also optimistic about her own future.
“I am extremely confident about what the future
holds for myself and others!” Vigna says.