Maria Escalera
2006 diagnosed
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas
Lung cancer
In the spring of 2010, Maria Escalera traveled 5,000 miles to participate in a clinical trial to save her life from Stage 4 lung cancer. Diagnosed four years earlier, the cancer had spread to her pancreas and liver. This was her last hope. She arrived from Venezuela at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas for treatment with a drug called FUS1 nanoparticle, which locates and penetrates cancer cells using a novel delivery method. The result: Escalera has a new lease on life.
ACGT Scientific Advisory Council member, Dr. Jack Roth, one of the lead scientists in the development of this miracle drug, has followed the progress of all those testing the drug’s safety and efficacy and is thus one of Escalera’s guardian angels. “They call me their miracle patient,” she said following the trial. One of many, and many more to come.
*Used by permission of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.