Orange County family hoping clinical trial saves their mother from brain cancer
Lori Coble's son and daughters were killed in a crash on the 5 Freeway in 2007. Almost exactly a year later, she gave birth to triplets who are now about to start their senior year in high school.
Jake, Ellie, Ashley and their dad Chris are praying and hoping that Lori's glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, discovered just a few weeks ago can be cured.
"So much has happened to my family and I can't help but think, why is this happening again?" Ellie said. "It's just so unfair but through both of these trials, we've really built a community and we have so many people looking out for my family and helping us. I couldn't be more grateful for the support."
Chris said the brain cancer affects Lori as if she had a stroke.
"A bad stroke that affected the left side of her body," he said. "Her motor control is highly restricted. She also can't really see very well because the tumor behind her right eye is affecting her vision. She needs pretty much constant care every moment of the day."
Lori recently had surgery to remove part of the tumor. An online fundraiser is collecting money to help cover the costs of in-home care. She'll have a second surgery at City of Hope next week to remove the rest of the tumor, which Chris described as necessary but risky because she could lose complete mobility on her left side.
"She's definitely fighting this fight," Ashley said. "I know she's going to try her hardest."
Lifting the family's spirits is a new clinical trial at City of Hope. Doctors will use the DNA from a cancerous tumor to create a personalized vaccine.
"There have been some patients on this vaccine trial that have lived longer," Lori's neurosurgeon Dr. Benham Badie said. "There is some hope and some preliminary data that this vaccine may work. Every patient is different. We don't know if she will get the vaccine and whether it's going to work for her."
The clinical trial is randomized, meaning half of the patients will get the vaccine. Chris said he's run out of tears and is kept awake at night thinking about what his family is going through.
"I feel like we've had enough pain in our lives that we could really use a break somewhere along the line," Chris said. "That's not fair to say because every person that has this aggressive brain cancer is going through those same concerns, same tragic realization. I just hope we can see her, keep her alive for as long as possible now."
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