Clinical trial in Philadelphia gives new hope for rare blood cancer patient: "I feel like a miracle"

A phase one clinical trial in Philadelphia at Temple University's Fox Chase Cancer Center is combining two FDA-approved medications, giving new hope for people with an advanced kind of blood cancer.

The trial is designed to help patients with myelofibrosis who aren't responding to traditional therapies.

Demetria Mears, from Dover, Delaware, has the rare blood cancer, but she's all smiles checking in with her doctor at Temple Health's Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Since starting the new experimental treatment, the mother of four says her symptoms have improved dramatically.

"I feel like a miracle, a miracle child because I feel 1,000% better," she said.

Mears has been fighting myelofibrosis for more than a decade and has suffered with debilitating symptoms.

"He looked me in my eyes and told me I'd be dead in three years," she said. "I was so tired that I didn't want to feed my kids. I didn't even want to get up and bathe myself."

When the standard treatment of chemotherapy didn't work, she turned to a clinical trial at Fox Chase.

"It's taking a drug that's already FDA-approved for breast cancer or ovarian cancer and combining it with the standard of care." Dr. Peter Abdelmessieh, a Hematology Oncology specialist at Temple Fox Chase, said. "Your primary objective is to decrease these symptoms by 50%."

Abdelmessieh says the therapy is monitored by having patients rate their symptoms. The experimental therapy isn't a cure but could be a way to help manage the cancer.

The experimental therapy targets the overproduction of blood cells and is designed to help patients feel better.

Mears said she's relieved to have her life back, and she's hoping the experimental treatment continues to help.

"I'm grateful for the help that I've gotten," Mears said. "At one point I thought I had no chance. And I'm a living witness that it helps. It really does."