
Just trying to keep up...🏃♀️🏋️♂️ 🏌🏽♀️ CrossFit L2 Trainer~Beating Cancer with @immunitybio
Joined March 2022
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MARCH 6th - One year ago on this day, I found out I had cancer and also had surgery to remove it. A colonoscopy found a 6 cm tumor that was causing intussusception (a telescoping of the colon) that had only started causing unbearable pain just a few days earlier. I had not experienced any other typical symptoms of colon cancer before that.
I had a right hemi-colectomy, removing half of my colon and over 30 lymph nodes. Pathology revealed that while I was Stage 2, there were some high risk features of my tumor. I had a high rate of “tumor budding”. This means tiny clusters of cancer cells were breaking away and invading nearby tissue. Anything above 10 is considered “high” and I was at 13. There was also the beginning of vascular invasion. These features increased my chance of having a recurrence by 1.5 to 2x and necessitated that I do adjuvant treatment to prevent a recurrence.
I was so very fortunate to find @ImmunityBio and @DrPatrick early on and am so grateful that I was able to do their incredible BIOSHIELD protocol. I received ANKTIVA and a targeted immunotherapy injection (ETBX-011) that trained my immune system to recognize and attack any colon cancer cells expressing the CEA marker. I also took oral chemo pills that acted as an immunomodulator that made any possible remaining cancer easier for the immune system to recognize.
This treatment is innovative, targeted, personalized and I believe GAME CHANGING. I hope and pray that the @US_FDA and others (@DrMakaryFDA, @DrJBhattacharya, @RobertKennedyJr) realize what they have right in front of them. Let’s save the people that need it and then help people restore and preserve their immune systems so we don’t HAVE desperate stage 4 patients anymore.
While the one year milestone is great, 80% of recurrences occur within the first 2-3 years after surgery. The highest risk window is the first 18-24 months. I am in surveillance mode but I know that my immune system is ACTIVATED, ROBUST, TRAINED and on HIGH ALERT. I plan on making this same post again next year on March 6th!
#Cancer #ColonCancer #ANKTIVA #BIOSHIELD #ImmunityBio $IBRX
GretchMick retweeted
Big news for bladder cancer patients! FDA just expanded approval of Anktiva with BCG for adults with BCG-unresponsive, high-grade papillary-only NMIBC — the first treatment approved for this group. This is a first, and that matters. Evidence from a closely related form of bladder cancer supported the approval.
fda.gov/drugs/resources-info…
GretchMick retweeted
Best of wishes Michael and Congratulations .
There are millions of patients with cancer worldwide who are in complete remission. The next frontier is to develop therapies strengthening the immune system to prevent recurrence in these over 15 million patients in the USA alone, and drive long term durable freedom from cancer to win the war. Incremental short term duration of response should no longer be an acceptable outcome.
The therapies to address and maintain cancer free status are now here……..the orchestration of the immune system, the identification of tumor DNA in the peripheral blood, the easy measurement of the NK and T cell levels in the peripheral blood count, the sophistication of next gen PET/ MRI/ CT scans, the ability to grow and store activated NK cells, the ability to identify tumor educated T cells, the new knowledge of camelid derived heavy chain single domain antibodies and the ability to precisely target radioactive ligands, to precisely target CART and CarNK and CAR-iNKT cells. These immunotherapy advances are all here today and in various stages of clinical trials. The oncology community will enter this next generation of paradigm change. The need to establish these diagnostic and therapeutic combinations as IMMUNOTHERAPY 2.0 is both urgent and exhilarating.
This was the subject of my one hour talk with NIH and NCI and the decade of collaboration with Jeffrey Schlom and James Gulley to develop a cancer vaccine. Hope to release the talk once I receive the video recording and obtain clearance to make it public. We are closer than ever.
Caputo appointed to President’s Cancer Panel
“I’ve been blessed with colleagues who are interested in my cancer battle, and it’s not over. My cancer is gone, but Susie said it best: now I have to rebuild what treatment took from me.” - The Cancer Letter cancerletter.com/white-house…
GretchMick retweeted
Brandon Clark has fought Stage IV colon cancer for five years. He travels to California every 3 weeks for an immunotherapy trial, while receiving care at Siteman Center in St. Louis. Please donate or share via the GoFundMe page to support treatment and his 3 boys. Thank you. #ColonCancer gofund.me/86de89de5
Last round of treatment yesterday at ImmunityBio. ❤️
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to participate in a single-patient investigational new drug (IND) protocol with the goal of reducing my risk of colon cancer recurrence after my extended right hemicolectomy surgery last year.
There is so much potential in these immune-based protocols, and I hope every day for positive study results and ultimately, access for anyone who may benefit from them.
The best news: my latest bloodwork showed a very low CEA, and my Signatera test showed ZERO detectable circulating tumor DNA. 🙏🏼
My next big milestone is March: two years from surgery with no recurrence.
For now, I’m feeling strong, grateful, and hopeful—and confident that my immune system is alert and ready for whatever comes next. 💪🏼
#whatsyourALC #immunitybio #coloncancer
GretchMick retweeted
Forcing a vaccine, or any medical intervention, on another human being is a violation of the fundamental right to bodily autonomy.
And when people say, “No one is forcing you”:
If a child cannot attend school without complying, cannot go to summer camp, cannot participate in sports, or is excluded from ordinary life because their parents declined a medical intervention, that is not meaningful consent. It is coercion.
Consent obtained under threat of exclusion, punishment or loss of opportunity is not freely given consent.
Medical decisions belong to individuals and families. Not schools, employers, corporations or the state. There should never be a penalty attached to saying no, PERIOD.
GretchMick retweeted
Great interview with Dr Pat. Unleash #ANKTIVA and NK cell therapy for all cancer patients!
youtu.be/aRDyqswYUOY?is=zK3l…
AI has been instrumental in how I’ve handled my cancer diagnosis, surgery and treatment. Understanding medications, translating scan reports and bloodwork, creating meal plans after a resection, putting together a supplement stack and so so much more.
I'm a cardiologist. I've spent twenty years as the person patients trust to interpret their bodies. And I need to tell you something that most physicians won't say out loud:
AI is about to change the power dynamic between you and your doctor. Forever.
Four days ago, OpenAI's o3 model diagnosed 18 children with rare diseases that the best human specialists at Boston Children's Hospital couldn't solve — some after nearly twenty years of searching. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Two weeks ago, WashU researchers proved that nine routine blood markers can calculate your biological age — and predict cancer risk years before any tumor forms. A free calculator. Available to anyone.
Last month, AI-enhanced coronary CT angiography detected inflamed arteries in patients whose standard stress tests said "normal." Patients who would have gone home reassured and wrong.
The pattern is unmistakable. The tools that used to require a specialist, a referral, a three-month wait, and a $400 copay are migrating into your phone, your bloodwork portal, and your own hands.
And I'm watching something in my practice I never expected.
Patients are walking in more informed than some of the residents I trained. They've run their PhenoAge score. They know their ApoB. They've read the study about Lp(a) before I've had time to bring it up. They come with questions so specific that the conversation starts at a level it took me years of training to reach.
This used to threaten physicians. It shouldn't. It should liberate us.
Because here's the truth about the old model: a 15-minute appointment where your doctor runs a basic metabolic panel, glances at the numbers, says "looks fine," and sends you home — that model was never good enough. It was just all we had. It missed 75% of future heart attacks. It caught cancer late. It told women with microvascular disease they had anxiety. It filed children with rare diseases as "unsolvable."
AI doesn't replace the physician. I've said this before and I mean it — the human moment, the clinical judgment, the hand on the shoulder when the diagnosis lands — that's irreplaceable.
But AI does something the old model never could: it gives you the ability to see inside your own biology with a depth and speed that was impossible a decade ago. To track your own numbers. To calculate your own biological age. To bring data to your doctor that elevates the conversation from "am I sick?" to "where exactly am I heading, and what do we do about it?"
The patient who walks in with their ApoB, their Lp(a), their hsCRP, their PhenoAge calculation, and a list of questions from the latest research — that patient doesn't threaten me.
That patient is the easiest person in my practice to keep alive.
Because they've already done the one thing most patients never do: they stopped waiting for permission to understand their own body.
I went into medicine because I wanted to help people live longer. What I've learned is that the patients who live longest are the ones who took ownership — not of my job, but of their own data, their own questions, and their own decisions.
The tools are here. The research is published. The calculators are free. The blood tests cost less than a dinner out.
You don't need to wait for your annual physical to find out what's happening inside you. You don't need permission to understand your own biology. And you don't need to accept "looks fine" from anyone — including me — when the science offers a deeper answer.
The revolution isn't coming. It's in your pocket. In your patient portal. In the published studies you can read yourself.
The only question left is whether you'll use it — or keep waiting for someone to tell you it's time.
Your body. Your data. Your life.
Take ownership. Your future self is counting on it.
I didn’t drink a lot, but when I was diagnosed with cancer, I never had another sip. Alcohol is a carcinogen. Even if it increases my chance of recurrence by the tiniest amount, it’s a gamble I’m not going to take. Now, more than a year later, not drinking feels like a SUPER POWER. I highly recommend. 👊🏼 @rachel.foreverwell
“Our regulatory agencies remain fully captured.”
FDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE VOTES 9-0 TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF MODERNA'S mRNA FLU SHOT DESPITE 75.3% OF RECIPIENTS SUFFERING ADVERSE REACTIONS
SEVERE systemic reactions were 4× MORE COMMON with the mRNA flu shot than with the traditional flu shot.
As usual, there was NO placebo group.
Our regulatory agencies remain CAPTURED.
$IBRX My personal opinion is that IBRX should be approved for Lymphopenia now. There are no safety issues with IBRX. So why not? Is there enough data to approve it? I think enough. This FDA is really a fucked up mess. They are clowning around approving bullshit stuff while Lymphopenia is f-ing huge. Is there anyone out there that is even in clinical trials to cure Lymphopenia. No one. Except us. Our FDA is a fucked up mess. This shit is starting to seriously piss me off. Is there anything that trump can do?
And Sepsis is another one. Jesus, what a mess.
GretchMick retweeted
What's it going to take for the FDA to cut the red tape?
#ANKTIVA and natural killer (NK) cell therapy are already delivering miracles—activating the body's own immune system to fight cancer where other treatments failed. My husband Andrew's remarkable recovery from GBM (multiple clean MRIs, healthy tissue regrowth) is living proof. Hundreds of patients are reaching out for this hope.
It's time to unleash these therapies into every qualified hospital nationwide. Expand access now through CNPV vouchers, Right to Try, and streamlined approvals. No more bureaucracy standing between patients and lifesaving care.
Let's save lives. Let's kill cancer.
Share if you or someone you love deserves better options. Tag your reps. Demand action. @US_FDA @DrPatrick @bullishbruk
#ANKTIVA #NKCellTherapy
Last week’s CT Scan
🔥‼️All Clear‼️🔥
Still CANCER FREE thanks to #Anktiva helping my immune system do what it’s supposed to do!
Now I get to do what I love to do and I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon. (And yes this last lift of our session was UGLY🫣). #cancerfree #CrossFit $IBRX @ImmunityBio
$IBRX ANKTIVA (N-803) should be considered for inclusion iin the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher pilot program, shifting the paradigm from tumor-specific targeting to a pan-tumor immune-reconstitution strategy. Please write a comment on stkt.co/G5KnZ4n3
GretchMick retweeted
If you missed the FDA hearing about the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher Program where @LoriMills4CA42 I gave comments, here is what I said:
Good afternoon, distinguished panelists and members of the FDA. As Henry Ford said: “We need a faster horse.”
My name is Karol Hansen. I am a Stage IV breast cancer patient with Mets to the bones. I have been fighting cancer for 10 years. In that time, I have undergone chemotherapy twice, radiation three times, and more than 25 surgeries. The cancer has recurred over 11 times.
10 years ago, Nuelasta was prescribed to me before I even had neutropenia because it’s medically known that chemotherapy causes Netropenia. Neutrophils are an inherent part of the body’s immune system that provide rapid, broad, innate protection against infection and injury. Lymphocytes form the core of the adaptive immune system and are responsible for precise, targeted and long-lasting immunity.
Neulasta, and its biosimilars, is given prophylactically to protect neutrophils. ANK TIVA, manufactured by Immunity Bio in California protects lymphocytes, but it is NOT YET approved by the FDA for all cancer types.
During these years of relentless treatment my Absolute Lymphocyte Count remains critically low — below the threshold associated with increased infections, weakness, treatment failure, and shortened survival. There are millions of cancer patients whose ALC looks just like mine. RIGHT NOW, at the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Medicine there are 15,000 patients waiting in line to receive ANK TIVA.
ANK TIVA is the first therapy designed to restore and activate lymphocytes through its IL-15 mechanism. It is the missing piece of immune boosting protection — ANK TIVA is the equivalent to lymphocytes as Neulasta is to neutrophils.
I have intractable, treatment-resistant cancer that has failed standard therapies. If ANK TIVA had been available as standard supportive care a decade ago, I might have been spared years of immune collapse, repeated recurrences, and the physical and emotional toll of more than 25 surgeries. Now I am out of time, out of strength and out of options. The 15,000 patients waiting for ANK TIVA can only get it if an opening is available in a narrow group of clinical trials or through the Extended Access Program, which the clinic has to process one at a time, on a case by case basis. A VERY SLOW process. It took almost a year for me to get approved. That’s not POLITICS, that’s imminent death for critically ill patients.
Ladies and gentlemen, we HAVE the cart, which is ANK TIVA. But, as Henry Ford said, “WE NEED A FASTER HORSE!” The Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher Program IS THAT FASTER HORSE!
Immunity Bio is delivering groundbreaking immune-restoring therapy of ANK TIVA but the FDA needs to approve it as a first line of defense for patients with lymphopenia.
The CNPV Program was created to accelerate exactly these kinds of innovative therapies that address critical unmet needs and can transform patient outcomes. I urge the FDA to prioritize ANK TIVA for full approval and label expansion so that every cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy or radiation can receive lymphocyte support proactively — not as a desperate final measure after years of fighting for survival.
It is TIME for a faster horse at the FDA. Streamline the review process. Provide a patient conduit directly to CNPV. Give us a voice. Speed up access to ANK TIVA. Give future patients the CHANCE at a fuller life that I, and others who have died while waiting, have been denied.
Thank you for listening to my story and for the work you do every day on behalf of patients like me
GretchMick retweeted
I’ll be speaking tomorrow in front of the FDA to advocate for ANKTIVA to be given to all cancer patients as a first line of defense. If you’re interested in this hearing discussing the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher Program you can watch the hearing on their YouTube channel starting at 1:00 pm Eastern: youtube.com/live/5gS9gJ99Cvk…
Approve Anktiva! @LoriMills4CA42 @DrPatrick @richadcock @ImmunityBio @ChiayuChenMD @bullishbruk @USNCG5Rick @tteuscher @GretchMick @Brandon_r_clark @CarnivoreKen @JeffRoseTV @theduffhoneybee @ethan_leffler @Natasha_Buga @megbasham @reborn_amit @shelbysaidthat @Kathryn83970251 @SandyGl88167783













