Well, as much as we wanted this blog to remain inactive, gathering digital dust in some corner of an anonymous data center, we unfortunately have to clear out the cobwebs and reactivate the support system: Cathy’s cancer has returned.

Back in December of 2022, the elusive Mantle Cell Lymphoma came out of hiding for the first time since we last left you back in 2017. Luckily, medical science has come a long since the first go around: what used to be grueling rounds of chemo was replaced this time by a simple, once-a-day pill that melted it so quickly that I didn’t even have time to blog about it. A year later – this past December – it regrouped and returned. This time we switched up the medication and added a brief radiation regiment, which provided a few months’ relief. But Lymphoma is apparently like glitter: you can never seem to get rid of it.

So here we are again, needing to switch up treatments, and hit it hard, as this time around it seems to be quickly spreading. So here’s the current plan of attack brought to you straight from the copious notes of Christy – Cathy’s alliterative sister – who was so kind to fly up from Tennessee to join us at the University of Chicago on Monday for an appointment with the team who will manage her treatment:

Cathy will have a therapy called CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy) which involves gene therapy to modify a patients own immune cells (T-cells) to destroy the cancer. This treatment if successful can put the lymphoma into remission for many more years.

There will be two phases. The first phase involves shrinking down the total mass of cancer to an amount that the T-cells can effectively destroy.

Cathy will be admitted to the U of C hospital on Thursday to be given an oral medication that normally would be taken at home and titrated up to the optimal dosage over a period of five weeks. Instead she will have an accelerated dosing protocol in the hospital to get to the optimal dosage over a period of seven days.

This ramped up dosing will cause the rapid breakdown of tumor cells. This can cause Tumor Lysis Syndrome which is when a large number of cancer cells release their contents into the bloodstream causing toxic metabolic complications. Hopefully this won’t happen, but it can be treated and managed. She will be in the hospital 7-9 days.

During this time they will harvest Cathy’s T-cells and send them to a special lab where they will be modified. She will be at home for approximately the next 20 days until the T-cells are ready.

Then phase 2 starts. She will be in the hospital again and have 3 days of chemotherapy before the T-cells are infused back in. Once again with the massive die off of cancer cells there could be a systemic inflammatory response (Cytokine Release Syndrome) and a chance of neurotoxicity. She will be in the hospital for 7-10 days.

So, we have a few roadblocks to clear, and while it won’t be easy, we’re infinitely grateful for these treatment options, and for her giant support group (hey, that’s you!!) marching alongside her on this journey.

You may have noticed a bit of a rebrand on this site if you were with us back in 2017. Cathy’s Crusaders has now become Gugga’s Groupies, to reflect her most prized identity: Grandma (Gugga).

Gugga’s biggest Groupies. Left to right: Graham (4), Collin (3), Gugga (66), Will (4), Hannah (6)