John Bell is a cigar aficionado, but after 24 years, his part-time hobby working at the cigar shop was threatened.

“I was noticing some swelling in my cervical lymph nodes on the left side," Bell said. 

Bell was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma, an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system, and underwent six months of chemo.

“I was pretty devastated when we got to the end and found out it wasn’t completely successful,” Bell said.

Clinical Director of the Cellular Therapy Program at UNC Health, Natalie S. Grover, MD believed CAR T-Cell therapy would be his best option.

“It’s using a patient’s own immune cells to specifically target them to a marker on the lymphoma cells," Dr. Grover said. "Their T-cells are now specifically targeted to attack their cancer cells.” 

Side effects were harsh. Bell’s temperature pushed 106, his blood pressure dropped, and he spent 18 days in the hospital.

A month later, things got better.

“The hope is that he’s cured with lymphoma,” Dr. Grover said.

Now, Bell is back in the cigar shop, savoring each and every moment.

“I feel good. I’m completely asymptomatic, and it’s almost like it never happened,” Bell said.

CAR T-Cell therapy is still facing scrutiny. Although the Food and Drug Administration is instructing manufacturers of these therapies to add its highest safety related warning to the treatment, the agency says the overall benefits outweigh the potential risks.

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