Tyler Goodwin

Tyler was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma in the spring of 2016. FL is known as an "indolent" or slow-growing cancer, but it some cases it can be aggressive. That turned out to be the case for Tyler as the cancer was resistant to chemotherapy, and he was, what is called "Refractory". He first went through B&R for a 6-month regimen, which resulted in a complete remission. Unfortunately, he relapsed 6 months later. That led to the decision to do an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant. First, he would need to do 6 rounds of R-CHOP Chemotherapy then would need to do the SCT. Sadly, after gaining a complete remission with the SCT the cancer returned once again 6 months later. Faced with the option of an Allogenic Transplant or entering into a clinical trial for CAR-T-Cell Therapy to try this new drug and process where they genetically modify your blood to recognize and kill the cancer, Tyler chose to enter into the clinical trial. The trial was a success and 2 years later it led to FDA approval of the drug for patients with Follicular Lymphoma.

Tyler is a big proponent of CAR-T and wrote a coloring book based on his experience called "CAR-T-Man Unleashing The Genetic Marvel of CAR-T-Cell Therapy." It is available on his website, www.car-t-man.com. It tells his cancer journey, portraying cancer as a comic book-type villain. In the trial, Tyler's blood is genetically modified, and he imagines that he turns into a cancer-fighting superhero and then takes on the cancer villain in a showdown in the Oncology Department. It is an inspirational story that introduces CAR-T-Cell Therapy and promotes clinical trials.

Tyler can be found enjoying time on the tennis courts, walking his dog Blaze, and enjoying time with his adult children on the coast of Maine.

Click here to read all of Tyler's articles on Blood-Cancer.com.