Tim and Debbie Ziemianski are world travelers. It’s who they are and how they most love spending time together. Cancer nearly stole that from them when Tim faced a lymphoma diagnosis in 2022.
“It was very dire,” Tim said. “The PET scan just lit up all over the place,” he recalled, remembering seeing how thoroughly the cancer had metastasized throughout his body. In January 2023, Tim and Debbie decided it was time to go to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center when, after a very brief remission, the lymphoma returned.
Luckily for Tim and so many patients like him, Roswell Park was able to offer CAR T-cell therapy as a next course of action against his cancer.
Thanks to donors like you, Roswell Park is positioned to be a global destination for innovative cancer care like CAR T-cell therapy. By expanding our ability to study, produce and test new treatments, Roswell Park experts can offer the most cutting-edge care to more patients faster.
Bringing Innovation to Patients
Cell therapy uses cells, sometimes gene-engineered, to work with a patient’s immune system to stop cancer growth and kill existing cancer cells. The production of those cells needs to happen in a sophisticated, dedicated facility that is built exactly for that specific purpose. With donor support, Roswell Park is broadening our capabilities to expand the pace and scope of available treatment for patients. This expansion will set up Roswell Park as a leader in cell production for immunotherapies and cell therapies and get us one step closer to being a global destination for this innovative cancer care.
Few institutions in the nation have the facilities for pre-treatment, manufacturing and post-treatment of immunotherapies and gene therapy clinical trials. With a recent investment from New York State and with the support of donors like you through the Igniting Cancer Breakthroughs campaign, Roswell Park has all of this, making it uniquely positioned to lead cutting-edge trials.
With your support, Roswell Park experts will be able to use the expanded facilities to bring existing and new treatments to more patients, participate in more clinical trials and research treatments that are still on the horizon. The innovation has already begun.
Four donor-funded cell therapy clinical trials are on the horizon through the Igniting Cancer Breakthroughs campaign: a pediatric and adult sarcoma trial, an ovarian cancer trial, a small cell lung cancer and prostate cancer trial and a pancreatic cancer trial. These trials, all currently in pre-clinical phases, will focus on targeting solid tumors. The results are expected to bring groundbreaking advancements to cell therapy that will launch this treatment type into standard of care, reaching many more patients.
“These funds are allowing us to set a new standard for cancer therapeutics focused on the patient, delivering the patient the only outcome that I think any patient with cancer is interested in — cure,” said Roswell Park Senior Vice President and Associate Director for Translational Research Marco Davila, MD, PhD. “We’re almost one year out from Tim’s therapy, and all the imaging is showing he’s in complete remission.”
Hope For New Adventures
The Ziemianski family is back in action. Tim and Debbie resumed their regularly scheduled jaunts abroad this summer with a trip to Europe with some of their adult children. They’re also embarking on a whole new adventure altogether as grandparents.
“The thought of him not being there for our kids, our grandchild, was devastating,” Debbie said, filled with emotion. “Other hospitals may do some cancer treatment, but they’re not what Roswell Park is. That’s why research and innovation is important.”
Without innovations in cell therapy, Tim would not have had access to lifesaving treatment. Roswell Park is extending that same hope to more patients with every new discovery, each new clinical trial. And none of that would be possible without your generous support. Cancer doesn’t stop, so neither will we.
“This is a time of tremendous hope and promise,” explained Roswell Park Deputy Director Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD. “Cellular therapy is in its infancy, but it’s already dramatically reshaping what we can achieve through cancer therapy. I’m incredibly excited about the work the team will do in the next few years — the time we are going to be able to give back to patients with even advanced cancers, the cures that are within our reach today.”
Editor’s Note: Cancer patient outcomes and experiences may vary, even for those with the same type of cancer. An individual patient’s story should not be used as a prediction of how another patient will respond to treatment. Roswell Park is transparent about the survival rates of our patients as compared to national standards, and provides this information, when available, within the cancer type sections of this website.
