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Rod Quiros, lymphoma, cancer trial participant
“Clinical trials are the only way we can get closer to a cure, or at least to
making cancer a disease you can live with.”
A diagnosis of cancer is shocking to anyone, let alone to
someone in their 20s who had never been in a hospital. Yet it was just days
after Christmas when physicians confirmed that Rod Quiros was suffering from
advanced lymphoma and a large tumor in his rectal wall. Rod’s physician was
concerned about the risks of surgery and suggested a clinical trial that
involved using existing drugs in a new way.
With the help of his girlfriend’s medical expertise, Rod agreed
to enroll in the trial. His response to the treatment was almost immediate, and
after six months of intense therapy, Rod was cancer-free.
During the course of his treatment, Rod turned to
cycling as a way of focusing on something positive. It developed into a
passion, and in 2004 he was thrilled to be part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Tour of Hope™ team. Rod felt participating in the cross-country bike race was a
way he could give something back to the research community: “The bike became
the messenger for sharing my experience and being able to show people that
cancer is no longer a life sentence. Clinical trials are the only way we can
get closer to a cure, or at least to making cancer a disease you can live
with.”
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