California Cancer Connection

Denise is a real-life inspiration whose personal battle with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma led to a medical miracle. Facing a grim prognosis with only months to live, Denise found hope in a clinical trial.
Denise became UCLA's first patient to receive a experimental CAR T-cell therapy. This innovative treatment involved extracting her own T-cells, genetically reprogramming them into "supercharged" cancer-fighters, and reinfusing them back into her body.
The results were extraordinary. This clinical trial directly contributed to the development of Yescarta, one of the first FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies. The company that pioneered the treatment, Kite Pharma, later sold for $11.9 billion dollars, underscoring the revolutionary impact of this new field of medicine.
As a powerful survivor and advocate, she shares her journey to instill hope in others, living by the motto: "there's always hope till there's no more hope"