Pennsylvania Teen is Cured From Leukemia After Groundbreaking Therapy

Emily Whitehead Teen Cured From Cancer Penn State Health acute lymphoblastic leukemia Children's Hospital of Philadelphia CAR T-Cell therapy in kids

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Jul 21, 12:39 pm

The year was 2010 when Emily Whitehead's life dramatically changed. The rambunctious five-year-old preschooler had just gone to her annual checkup in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and was given a clean bill of health by her doctors, with Whitehead hitting every milestone, according to People Magazine.

Mom Kari recalled that everything was great then but that all changed just a week later when she noticed Emily having bruises on odd parts of her body, including her back and stomach. Her gums then started bleeding, with the young girl waking up in the middle of the night in unbearable pain.

Kari Googled her daughter's symptoms and what she found was not good as they were the classic signs of leukemia. She returned to the doctor's office with her little daughter to confirm if that was the case.

Emily diagnosed with leukemia

Within days, Emily was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Doctors at Penn State Health in Hershey, Pennsylvania, prescribed Emily a 26-month regime of chemotherapy to treat her cancer.

She ran dangerously high fevers during the first few weeks of treatment and had a rare infection that almost forced her doctors to amputate her legs. Despite the numerous challenges, Emily's treatment worked as she was in remission just one month later.

Kari said they had a rough start, but the doctors told them that when chemotherapy works for these kids, it works. The family's joy was short-lived, though, as Emily relapsed in October 2011. The prognosis was grim, with doctors giving the then six-year-old just a 30 percent chance of survival.

Dad Tom, a power company lead lineman, said the news was more devastating to them than Emily's original diagnosis. He then took his daughter to get a second opinion at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Tom told Emily that if he had to crawl to the North Pole, he would if that is what it took to find someone to fix her.

Emily declared cured of cancer

She spent the next four months in the hospital preparing for a bone marrow transplant in February 2012. However, Emily's condition had deteriorated by the end of February to the point that she was no longer eligible for a bone marrow transplant.

Their prayers were answered, though, with Tom and Kari getting the news from Emily's doctors at CHOP that after a year of completing the required paperwork, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other committees had finally approved the hospital's Phase 1 clinical trial for CAR T-Cell therapy in kids and Emily had become their very first pediatric patient.

Miraculously, Emily's treatment worked as 23 days after it began, a bone marrow test conducted on May 10, 2012, showed all of her cancer was gone. She has remained cancer free, and when she turned 17 in May, Emily was declared cured of the dreaded illness.