Living Proof: Cancer Vaccine Recipients Bring Their Stories to Capitol Hill

PICI recently convened a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill exploring the transformative potential of cancer vaccines. The team was honored to be joined by cancer vaccine recipients and advocates from across the country, Vinod Balachandran from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and other leaders committed to advancing research and innovation.

The briefing was led by Kristen Dahlgren, PICI’s Chief External Affairs Officer and former NBC correspondent who left network news after her own breast cancer diagnosis to champion and help accelerate this research. “Almost one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime,” Kristen shared. “The rest of us will know or love someone who has it, so this is something that impacts all of us. And time is of the essence.” Dr. Vinod Balachandran explained how precision cancer vaccines are poised to be the next major biomedical breakthrough and shared results from his pancreatic cancer trial, where 90% of patients whose vaccines triggered an immune response were alive at six years, compared with 25% of those whose vaccines did not.

The highlight of the day was hearing from patients who are living proof that a long-promised idea is already changing lives.

• When Brad was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2003, he was told he had only months to live while his wife was seven months pregnant. He enrolled in one of the earliest personalized brain cancer vaccine trials at UCLA and is now more than 20 years cancer free. Today, he mentors brain tumor patients nationwide and has lived to see his daughter begin her career and his son graduate from college.
• A nurse practitioner and former oncology nurse, Devon was diagnosed at 33 with stage IV HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and initially given only palliative options. After enrolling in a personalized cancer vaccine trial, her tumors rapidly regressed, ultimately making curative surgery possible. She continues treatment today with curative intent, an outcome that was not initially considered achievable at diagnosis.
• When her children were just three and seven years old, Teri was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. She recalls singing to them every night in hopes that they would remember her voice if she didn’t make it. 22 years after receiving a cancer vaccine Teri has been able to see one daughter marry and enter vet school.
• Two years ago Molly was diagnosed with stage four of a rare and deadly liver cancer and told there was no standard of care available. But four months after she started a peptide vaccine trial she was cancer-free. Not only did the trial save her life, but she was also able to maintain a high quality of life while undergoing treatment; travelling to Hawaii and Vietnam, biking, weight lifting, and maintaining all her normal activities.

Hearing these powerful stories and conversations serves as a reminder of what is possible when scientific innovation, patient advocacy, and public investment come together to drive progress against cancer. PICI is proud to help advance conversations and collaborations needed to bring these promising therapies to more patients.

View the gallery below to browse photos from the inspiring day. Click here for more information on cancer vaccines and to learn more about all of the cancer vaccine recipients who so generously shared their time and stories.