UCLA cancer treatment gave this woman more than just hope

Denise Delatorre, 59, has always been a problem solver. As a real estate agent and single parent to her now 24-year-old son, she had to be.“If you’re working off straight commissions and you’re a single parent, it can be very taxing,” Delatorre said. “I’ve become an expert fixer, and I’m really good at helping other people. I enjoy doing that.”But in 2015, when she started having hot flashes, night sweats and feeling bloated, Delatorre knew she needed to focus on herself. She made an appointment with a doctor, hoping he would say that her symptoms were caused by menopause.But right before she went to her doctor ’s appointment, she felt a lump in her stomach and knew that it was something more serious.Delatorre was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin ’s lymphoma, one of the most common blood cancers. She quickly began treatment for what she was told was “a very treatable cancer.” Delatorre underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by two infusions of chemotherapy that required 96 hours.The regimen didn ’t work.Delatorre had 30 tumors throughout her body, and the cancer was starting to spread into her spine.“I’ll never forget the look on my doctor’s face when she told me the chemo didn’t work,” Delatorre said. “It was a look of horror. She told me, ‘This is the part of my job I don’t like. There’s nothing left we can offer you. You need to start making plans.’ So she basically sent me home to die with no hope.”At UCLA, a new treatment...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news