How a Clinical Trial Gave Me Hope—and 10 More Years of Life

My journey at Smilow Cancer Hospital began in the winter of 2016 when I met Joseph Kim, MD, an associate professor of internal medicine (medical oncology) at Yale School of Medicine.

After receiving treatment at several other hospitals, I knew that I had found a truly special place. When I met with Dr. Kim, I had already received a diagnosis of metastatic bladder cancer and had been told by other doctors that my cancer was terminal; they had nothing to offer me. That first visit with Dr. Kim changed everything; I left with a plan in place, and more importantly, hope.

Dr. Kim suggested a Phase I clinical trial that combined an immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), with a targeted anti-angiogenic therapy called ramucirumab. As he explained it, the immunotherapy would help my immune system recognize and attack the cancer, while ramucirumab would help cut off the blood supply that the tumor needed to grow. After a year on that trial, I started developing symptoms that concerned Dr. Kim, so we decided to try something else.

In 2017, I started another Phase I trial looking at an antibody-drug conjugate known as enfortumab vedotin, which later received an FDA approval in late 2019. I tolerated that treatment very well and was able to come off the trial in 2022, and I have been in remission ever since. Dr. Kim told me that my participation in this Phase 1 trial, along with other courageous patients, helped accelerate approval of this treatment. This treatment is now used for many other patients who are diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer.

It is unbelievable to me that I am here, 10 years later, approaching my 81st birthday after being told I had only a couple of years to live. At 70, I wasn’t ready to give up my fight. I had more living to do, so I wasn’t frightened about joining a clinical trial and trying something that might be experimental. The only other option I had was facing death, and there is nothing more frightening than that. My family and I had a positive direction to go in now, and that was so important to all of us.

Dr. Kim was encouraging, knowledgeable, and a steady, calming presence as he guided me through a very scary health challenge. Not only that, but the entire team, from the second you walk through the doors, is welcoming and caring. The trial team was extraordinary, they took such good care of me and my family. There were so many things they did to make this journey easier for me and I cannot thank them enough.

Years ago, I started writing a book, a biography of my mother who was born in Italy in 1901. When I was diagnosed with cancer I set it aside completely and didn’t have the energy or motivation to write. I was very encouraged by Dr. Kim and the fact that there was a drug that was helping me, and things were improving. I finally had the energy and desire to return to writing and recently published my book.

I wanted to pass something along to my family that explained where we came from. My mother led a very different life and faced many challenges being an immigrant in a new country. I know that if she had the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial she would have held her head high and walked straight toward it. When she was growing up, there was no medicine or doctors. Two of her children died because they lacked basic things like penicillin. To see where modern medicine is today, I am awestruck.

I dedicated a portion of my book to Dr. Kim because he is the reason I was able to complete it. Even though I worry that my cancer may return, Dr. Kim assures me that if that happens, there will be something else to try. I follow up with him every six months even though I have since moved to New Jersey. I will never forget the gift that he, and all the people at Smilow Cancer Hospital, have given to me and my family.