BUFFALO, N.Y. — Flashing a smile for cameras at Roswell Park is 5-year-old superstar Chasity.
"You all good?”
Chasity kisses her dad Cariorl.
Snuggled between her mom Shawanda.
“Thank you," he said.
The trio laugh.
Like more 5-year-olds, Chasity will tell you what grade she's in.
"Kindergarten,” she exclaims.
And that some of her favorite things are candy and her play kitchen.
Unlike most 5-year-olds Chasity.
“My child? I would have never thought,” Shawanda said.
She is now four years in remission from an aggressive form of leukemia.
Dr. Megan Higman of the Roswell Park Oishei Children's Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Program was there when Chasity was not smiling.
“She was about 6 weeks old,” Dr. Higman said.
A baby who was undergoing chemotherapy.
“It was just unbearable to handle,” Shawanda said.
And her prognosis was about to get worse.
“She relapsed while she was recovering from one of the [chemo] cycles,” Dr. Higman said.
Chasity was going to die she said, if not for one option, the only FDA-approved cell therapy for kids. She would be one of the youngest patients to receive it.
“The thing that made most sense was using CAR-T therapy,” Dr. Higman said.
Short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. It uses a patient's immune system to recognize and fight certain cancers.
Scientists collect and then modify patient cells so they target cancers like Chasity's leukemia, once returned to the body.
“Chemotherapy hits everything like a shotgun would and what we want is a precise targeted approach and that's what this does,” Dr. Higman said.
And for young Chasity, just beginning her life?
“Everything just turned around,” dad Cariorl said.
“You've seen the future of oncology in Chasity,” Dr Higman said.
A future at Roswell that’s growing.
Back in October, the Cancer Center announced plans to create a new $98 million Cell Therapy Center for work on the bleeding edge of cancer treatment and research.
New York State will invest $30 million toward the expansion. An additional $20 million will come from community donations to the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.
New labs where Roswell eventually hopes to develop new and improved cell therapy faster and safer than ever are currently under construction. They are scheduled for completion in early 2025.
Dr. Marco Davila, the head of translational research and Vice Chair for Cellular Therapies spoke with 2 On Your Side about the project.
“We believe Buffalo is going to be the epicenter for breakthroughs in cell therapy for cancer today but other diseases in the future,” said Dr. Davila.
The goal of this five to 10-year undertaking is to expand the use of cell therapy and its effectiveness in fighting a broad range of cancers.
Dr. Davila said next year Roswell will be the only cancer center to offer four cell therapy trials for leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas, and small-cell lung cancer.
Then they’re going after solid tumors like those associated with ovarian and breast cancer.
“When I sit across from patients sometimes, [I tell them] the goal of this technology is to cure your disease so that's why cell therapies, immune therapies are really exciting because they have the potential to cure patients,” Dr. Davila said.
And not just treat.
Speaking of patients?
The parents of our 5-year-old superstar tell 2 On Your Side that Chasity is doing great. Their family lives in Niagara Falls.
“Go ahead baby,” Cariorl said.
“C – H,” Chasity said.
Her mom Shawanda encourages her to spell her name.
While they continue to take things one day at a time, they are …
“Thankful, grateful,” Shawanda said.
“We left all our care to them and they never steered us wrong,” Cariorl added.
They credit Roswell with bringing back a smile to their now-growing girl.