The players at the World’s Longest Hockey Game in Strathcona County are doing more than just trying to break a world record.
They are also hoping to raise $1 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation to purchase equipment needed to make a CAR T-cell therapy trial a permanent addition to Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute.
CAR T-cell therapy is a personalized form of immunotherapy that trains a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer.
For Don Goss, that therapy was life-changing.
In 2019, Goss was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). After two years, the treatment he was undergoing failed.
Doctors suggested another round of chemotherapy — instead, Goss began getting his affairs in order and preparing for end-of-life care in hospice.
“I politely declined because I couldn’t tolerate it physically and I couldn’t make my family watch that,” he said.
“I had a bed booked at the Pilgrim’s Hospice after we made that decision.”
On the same day however, one of his doctors offered a last-chance treatment: a spot in the CAR T-cell therapy trial at the Cross Cancer Institute.
“It’s really this innovative treatment for people who have frankly ran out of treatment options,” Ryan Kelly from the Alberta Cancer Foundation said.
Goss agreed and received his first round of modified cells in February of 2022.
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“I (thought) ‘I’m going to die,’ then there’s hope,” he said.
“I got in on the deal by the skin of my teeth. That’s why I’m here.”
He had far fewer side effects than he’d experienced with traditional chemotherapy. Although Goss relapsed after his first treatment, doctors had prepared a second set of the modified cells in case that happened.
“I’m not sure they could cure me again,” he said. “That’s a lot to ask.”
He credits the therapy with changing his life — twice.
Now, the aim is to keep the CAR T-cell therapy lab going. The new equipment funded by the game will allow staff to create personalized immune cells in Edmonton, at a fraction of the current cost.
“The funds will help to set up the lab permanently,” Kelly said. “It will allow us to treat more patients and frankly, provide more hope to people.”
Goss is grateful to everyone involved in the game and their efforts toward the $1 million fundraising goal, ensuring more Albertans can access the treatment. “The future’s unbelievably bright,” Goss said.
Since the World’s Longest Hockey Game was introduced, more than $8 million has been raised for cancer research and projects through the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
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