Juan Hernandez, a Houston resident who beat Stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer, tells Dr. Steven Waguespack, not in picture, his experience at Gateway Foundation fundraiser gala, which spotlighted him as a successful cancer surviving case, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Hernandez, now 58, was diagnosed in May 2021 with anaplastic thyroid cancer -- which is one of the most deadly, unlike normal thyroid cancer.
In the following weeks, the lump grew to the size of a lemon — and it started oozing. Hernandez covered it with a large first-aid pad. When he removed the dressing the day of the procedure, the surgeon was concerned.While most thyroid cancers grow slowly and can be cured with outpatient surgery, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Hernandez's was more serious.
The primary investigator is the institution’s Dr. Mark Zafereo, professor of Head and Neck Surgery. He also serves as section chief of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery and associate medical director of the Head and Neck Center. “This is a completely different ball game,” Zafereo said. “It’s so fast-growing that by the time a patient goes to see a specialist, a major operation is very difficult or impossible.”
“This drug combo really changed the landscape of the treatment for this disease,” Zafereo said. “Patients were having remarkable responses.”“They were still developing a rapid drug resistance,” Zafereo said. “So we wanted to add immunotherapy to the equation.” Gateway funds research across the globe for all types of cancers, pledging more than $95 million to phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.
“We really make this disease a priority,” Zafereo said. “Time is of the essence when you’re talking about anaplastic thyroid cancer. It grows day by day.” Last month, Hernandez was invited to the Gateway for Cancer Research’s gala in Chicago as a guest of honor.