Don Goss had just about given up all expectations that he would beat his cancer, until a clinical trial changed everything
By: Jaelyn Molyneux
Five years ago, Don Goss was doing great. He had retired from the Edmonton Police Service and was onto the next phase in his career selling security equipment and services. That job had him travelling all around the world. But Goss had no idea that the next few years would include a cancer diagnosis, intense chemotherapy, choosing a hospice-care facility and, eventually, a life-changing clinical trial.
In July 2019, Goss was tired and feeling a bit off, but he didn’t think much of it. He was on a guys’ trip in Montana and dove into the lake, hoping the cold water would energise him. When Goss emerged from the water, though, he still wasn’t feeling like himself. He tried to sleep it off, but when he woke up, his face was paralyzed. Doctors in Montana diagnosed him with Bell’s Palsy and sent him home to Canada with a steroid treatment.
Those symptoms repeated over the next few weeks until Goss was admitted to the Misericordia Community Hospital in early August 2019. A month later, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (a blood and bone marrow cancer) at the University of Alberta, and his life changed very quickly.
A new reality
“The graveness of what was going on was very sobering,” says Goss. He immediately started a 24-month chemotherapy regimen that included bone biopsies, lumbar punctures, blood transfusions and more. “In the first month, you are devastated physically by the treatments. I had days where I thought, ‘Should I brush my teeth or my hair today, because I can’t do both.’ You just have to push through this whole thing and hope for the best.”
Goss finished his chemotherapy treatment in spring 2021. He was feeling very weak, but better. Just six weeks later, his cancer returned.
“It came back hard and I deteriorated really fast,” he says.
Goss was not always lucid during that time. What he remembers most was his family. His daughter and wife both took leaves from work to care for him. His son moved from Calgary back home to Edmonton and would sometimes have to carry him to the car to get him to the hospital.
“I thought, I can’t do this anymore — physically, mentally, to myself, but more importantly, to my family,” says Goss. After approximately six weeks into the recurrence, he decided to make hospice arrangements. “I came to the conclusion that I had to go to hospice. It just couldn’t continue.” He talked with his family. They were upset, but supportive. Hospice was arranged.
Later that same day, Goss was offered the ninth spot in Dr. Michael Chu’s 10-person CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial in Edmonton. Immediately, he accepted the spot — and everything changed.
The clinical trial that changed everything
Goss heard about the trial from Chu himself, who he met when he was first diagnosed with cancer. But, at that time, the trial was still in its infancy and not yet accepting patients. (Goss was accepted into the trial shortly after it was ready to accept patients.) Most importantly, he heard the success rate for CAR T-cell therapy was very high. In fact, the response rate for CAR T-cell therapies is 80 per cent.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy removes a patient’s own cells and genetically modifies them in a lab before infusing them back into the patient. The modified cells work to kill the cancer cells.
Goss’ CAR T-cell therapy happened over a matter of weeks, instead of the months of chemotherapy, so the side-effects were much less.
“I was sick, but it was a good sickness knowing that it was killing the cancer cells,” says Goss. The therapy worked for Goss: he began receiving CAR T-cell therapy through the clinical trial in February 2022, and he has no signs of cancer. He receives checkups every three months to make sure his leukemia hasn’t returned. Now, he is focused on building his strength back as he comes to terms with an outcome that took him from hospice to a bright future.
“It’s not lost on me how lucky I am, and others not so much,” says Goss.
Made-in-Alberta cell therapy solution
CAR T-cell therapy is making a difference for patients like Goss and others with hard-to-treat cancers. The treatment was first developed 30 years ago, but it has only been used regularly in Canada in the past six years. It has been slow to catch on in Edmonton — until recently.
“The difficult part of CAR T cells is that it’s difficult to make them and it’s also very expensive. So, that’s where the idea came from: ‘What if we could make our own CAR T cells [here in Alberta] for a fraction of the cost with the same effectiveness?’” says Chu.
Thanks to Chu’s work, it’s happening — and it’s working. “Nearly two-thirds of our patients are able to stay in long-term remission and what we consider a cure,” says Chu. Eventually, he hopes CAR T-cell therapy can be used to treat other forms of cancer, as well as autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, scleroderma and lupus.
“The future is bright for cancer cures,” adds Goss. “It never comes fast enough for the people who have it, but it is coming. And I’m living proof.”
