After tying the knot in May of 2018, Jeff Goar and his wife, Rachel, were looking forward to growing their family. 但结婚仅仅几周后，他们就知道他们必须把这件事搁置起来.
6月初，戈亚尔开始感到全身剧烈的疼痛，这种疼痛持续了好几天. It hurt to sit, stand and lay down. Every position was uncomfortable. 在他30岁出头的时候，他认为这是由于长时间工作造成的.
He continued to push through the persistent pain, 但有一天晚上，当他和父亲打垒球时，这种感觉变得难以忍受.
“我太痛苦了，我不得不坐在板凳上，”戈阿尔说. “And when I got home, 我睡不着，唯一能让我感到舒服的方法就是在热水下淋浴.”
That’s when he decided to go the emergency room.
起初，医生认为疼痛可能是肠胃问题. But Goar knew it was something more serious. 经过一些额外的测试和扫描，他们最终在他的腹部发现了一个巨大的肿块. 然后他被告知他将被送进肿瘤病房.
At this point, Goar was relieved that he had an answer. “It was like, finally, you guys believe me.”
那天晚上，Goar和他的妻子被介绍给皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心的肿瘤学家 Deborah Wong, MD, PhD.
Nationally recognized cancer care
Dr. 她是美国国立卫生研究院血液肿瘤科临床医学副教授 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, 是一个著名的医生和科学家团队的一员，他们正在开发新的癌症疗法，并提供最好的实验和传统疗法.
据估计，美国将诊断出10万例新的黑色素瘤病例.S. this year.
在皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心了解更多皮肤癌服务和临床试验
Dr. 黄告诉高尔，他的疼痛实际上是转移性黑色素瘤的症状, a rare but deadly form of skin cancer.
而黑色素瘤只占所有皮肤癌病例的1%, 在过去的几十年里，黑色素瘤的发病率一直在稳步上升，它是绝大多数皮肤癌死亡的原因, according to the American Cancer Society. 据估计，美国将诊断出10万例新的黑色素瘤病例.S. 2024年，今年将有8000多名美国人死于这种疾病.
This wasn’t Goar’s first bout with cancer. 他在20岁出头时被诊断出患有黑色素瘤，并通过手术切除了它. But this time, 黑色素瘤复发时的形式更有攻击性，并且已经扩散到他身体的其他部位.
“很难想象从庆祝婚姻的开始到被诊断出患有转移性黑色素瘤,” said Goar. “It was obviously upsetting for both me and my wife.”
From diagnosis to immunotherapy clinical trial
While discussing his treatment options with Dr. Wong, 戈阿尔了解到一项新的临床试验正在评估一种实验性癌症疫苗, called NEO-PV-01, that is given in combination with nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, another type of immunotherapy drug.
这种疫苗是根据每位患者肿瘤的特定特征和突变而个性化的. It’s designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system, particularly T cells, to recognize and attack cancer cells. Adding in an immune checkpoint inhibitor, such as nivolumab, can help activate the immune system, making it more effective at attacking cancer cells.
“这种个性化的方法有望提高癌症治疗的准确性和有效性，并提供对黑色素瘤的持久免疫力,” said Dr. Wong.
戈阿尔和他的妻子希望有一个孩子，所以在听到他的选择后，他想要一个医生. Wong to give it to him straight.
“我问她，如果这不起作用，我在看什么? 她告诉我，如果没有有效的治疗，我只能活六个月到一年. So, I thought, what do I have to lose?”
Two months later, Goar started the clinical trial.
Promising results
In late 2020, after nearly 2 1/2 years on the treatment, 在此期间，Goar继续全职监督工业制冷服务, he completed the therapy and was ready to start a family.
His scans still show several measurable masses, 但这种治疗能够将肿块缩小到不再给戈亚尔带来任何不适或疼痛的程度. He regularly goes in for routine CT scans, 哪些公司在过去四年里没有任何增长.
While the vaccine is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the results of the first phase of the study, published in the journal Cell, 已经证明它对晚期黑色素瘤患者是可行和安全的吗, non-small cell lung cancer and bladder cancer. 研究人员还发现，免疫疗法的结合成功地激活了免疫系统, particularly T cells, 哪些在很长一段时间内对特定的新抗原持续有反应, 导致免疫系统破坏癌细胞.
“Overall, the vaccine has encouraging outcomes,” said Dr. Wong. “杰夫的病例证明了免疫疗法的巨大潜力, 将曾经无法治愈的疾病转变为可治疗的疾病.”
Celebrating first birthday, first Father’s Day
2023年6月21日，杰夫和瑞秋·戈尔夫妇迎来了一个女婴. 在Goar的第一个父亲节之后几天，他们将庆祝她的第一个生日.
“Dr. 黄让我能够继续生活，让我有机会和我的妻子组成家庭,” said Goar. “如果她没有让我参加那个临床试验，我现在就不会在尘土之上了.”
