First chance at new treatment means second chance at life

Carol Ramnarine has accomplished a lot for someone who says she’s only 2 years old. She’s married, has two grown children and retired as a public school administrator. Oh, and there’s the small matter of her cancer.

Diagnosed in 2004 with multiple myeloma, Ramnarine later underwent a successful hematopoietic cell transplant paired with a new, targeted radiation technique using TomoTherapy developed at City of Hope.

“I have a new birthday — June 12, 2005, the date of my transplant,” Ramnarine said. “I’m now only 2 years old, because that’s how old my blood is.”

Ramnarine’s cancer story began after she noticed a strange bruise on her leg. When she sought medical help for it, the test results were stunning: She had early stage multiple myeloma, a cancer involving certain cells of the immune system. Unfortunately, it's notoriously tough to cure. Nearly 20,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with the blood disease in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society.

After prescribing medications to slow down her cancer, Ramnarine’s local oncologist referred her to City of Hope, where physicians decided her best hope for survival would be a hematopoietic cell transplant.  But it would be no ordinary transplant: It would be part of a clinical trial using a total-marrow irradiation treatment designed by City of Hope. And Ramnarine would become the first patient in the world to undergo the procedure.

First, the medical staff collected stem cells from her blood and stored them away. Then they provided high doses of chemotherapy to kill cancerous cells in her bone marrow.

Using the TomoTherapy Hi-Art system, City of Hope physicians targeted radiation “beamlets” directly to Ramnarine’s bones and bone marrow, minimizing exposure to her other healthy organs. Afterward, physicians reintroduced her stem cells back into her bloodstream. They took root in her marrow, kickstarting her brand-new immune system.
 
“I didn’t feel the horrible side effects people talk about, other than some itchy skin,” she said. “I was amazed at the TomoTherapy Hi-Art system and the painless treatment I was receiving.”
Now she gets regular testing, but she’s returned to reading, exercising, gardening, painting and more. “I’m just getting back to being adventurous,” said Ramnarine, who took a trip to the Hawaiian island of Molokai within months of her treatment.

It’s just her way of doing what matters. “I realize it’s not the length of your life that’s important,” she said. “It’s the quality of the way you live life.”