Gabe Fholer was in kindergarten when he started experiencing fevers and unexplained pain. His mom knew something was wrong. “Our pediatrician came in and said his white counts were so high the machine couldn’t read them,” Stephanie Fholer said.Gabe was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “Just the worst thing you can imagine. Just the shock. He was a very healthy, normal, active 6-year-old,” Stephanie Fholer said. Gabe spent a year and a half going through treatment, including chemotherapy. “This particular type of ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) was very challenging to cure. It required some less conventional approaches at the time,” Dr. Nick Fustino said. Doctors say Gabe was one of the first children at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines to receive a breakthrough drug called blinatumomab. Late last year, clinical trials for the immunotherapy drug ended early due to its clear benefits, and blinatumomab is now standard practice for treating B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.Blinatumomab works in combination with chemotherapy but is considered less toxic and does something chemo cannot do. “It has taken our cure rates from probably a little bit below 90% for acute lymphoblastic leukemia to well above 95%. And it’s also very effective in very hard-to-cure cases like Gabe’s was,” Fustino said.In Gabe’s case, blinatumomab helped get his cancer down to a level low enough so he was able to get a bone marrow transplant. “His transplant was deemed effective,” Stephanie Fholer said. “There is no sign of cancer in his body, and right now he has no more chance of getting leukemia than you or I do.” Gabe is now back on the ball field, doing what he loves and enjoying second grade in Des Moines.”It’s a terrible thing to have happen, but our outcome has been miraculous. Medicine is just amazing,” Stephanie Fholer said.
Gabe Fholer was in kindergarten when he started experiencing fevers and unexplained pain. His mom knew something was wrong.
“Our pediatrician came in and said his white counts were so high the machine couldn’t read them,” Stephanie Fholer said.
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Gabe was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“Just the worst thing you can imagine. Just the shock. He was a very healthy, normal, active 6-year-old,” Stephanie Fholer said.
Gabe spent a year and a half going through treatment, including chemotherapy.
“This particular type of ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) was very challenging to cure. It required some less conventional approaches at the time,” Dr. Nick Fustino said.
Doctors say Gabe was one of the first children at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines to receive a breakthrough drug called blinatumomab.
Late last year, clinical trials for the immunotherapy drug ended early due to its clear benefits, and blinatumomab is now standard practice for treating B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.
Blinatumomab works in combination with chemotherapy but is considered less toxic and does something chemo cannot do.
“It has taken our cure rates from probably a little bit below 90% for acute lymphoblastic leukemia to well above 95%. And it’s also very effective in very hard-to-cure cases like Gabe’s was,” Fustino said.
In Gabe’s case, blinatumomab helped get his cancer down to a level low enough so he was able to get a bone marrow transplant.
“His transplant was deemed effective,” Stephanie Fholer said. “There is no sign of cancer in his body, and right now he has no more chance of getting leukemia than you or I do.”
Gabe is now back on the ball field, doing what he loves and enjoying second grade in Des Moines.
“It’s a terrible thing to have happen, but our outcome has been miraculous. Medicine is just amazing,” Stephanie Fholer said.
