Duke Health

Two decades after Patrick Schultea underwent treatment for prostate cancer, his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels began to rise, signaling that the cancer had returned. Because tiny radioactive seeds had been implanted in his prostate at a local hospital to treat his first bout with cancer, Schultea needed a new approach. He found it at Duke Health. Today, he’s back to renovating his beach house and enjoying life with his family.

Billy Morning had always been a big guy, but around the time he turned 50, he knew it was time to do something about his weight. His father died after a heart attack when he was in his 60s, and Morning wanted to be around for his wife and his grandchildren. Just a few months after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery at Duke Raleigh Hospital, he’s lost more than 60 pounds. “I got so much energy now,” Morning said. “I can walk more. I'm not out of breath. I sleep a lot better. I can play with my grandkids. That’s the biggest thing."

Cellular therapies are showing tremendous promise for certain cancers previously thought to be incurable. While there are several types of cell therapies, they all remove and alter a patient’s cells, then infuse them back into the body to attack and kill cancer cells.

As part of our ongoing Conversations in Cancer video series, Diane Reedy-Lagunes, MD, a medical oncologist at Duke Health, talks to Chenyu Lin, MD, a hematologist-oncologist at Duke, who explains how they work and what the future may hold.

Duke Health experts discuss the use of cell therapy in fighting cancer.