Miracles at Christmas: Neville’s story

First diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when he was 36, the grandfather of three has battled life-threatening blood cancer for more than three decades. 

“I’ve had many, many years of traditional cancer treatment – radiation, chemotherapy, stem cell transplant and immunotherapy and it takes a toll,” Neville said. 

“It’s pretty hard to plan your life, or the year ahead, when you’re having back-to-back treatments and appointments and not sure what the future holds.”  

When Neville’s tumour returned in 2021, he thought he had exhausted all his options. 

But a breakthrough in the treatment of B-Cell Lymphoma, which involves re-engineering a patient’s own immune cells, is providing new hope to Neville, and patients like him. 

In the therapy, the patient’s blood is taken weeks prior to treatment, with medical technicians inserting chimeric antigen receptors into the T cells, making them better able to recognise and kill lymphoma.  

They are then infused back into the patient, in a therapy known as CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptors T-Cell). 

Head of The Alfred’s Lymphoma Service, Prof Con Tam, says that CAR-T represents a significant milestone in the treatment of blood cancer. 

“The success of directed immune cell therapy means we are now able to tackle multiple forms of cancer from an entirely new angle,” Prof Tam said. 

“CAR-T shows that we can potentially cure cancer by manipulating the patient’s own immune system to target and attack cancer cells, offering a better option for patients who might appear to have no other treatment option.” 

The Alfred has become only the second adult hospital in Victoria to offer CAR-T treatment, with a whole of hospital approach including collaboration with the Intensive Care Unit, Haematology and Neurology. 

“Being able to support a patient through this journey from all angles is critical to ensuring their recovery,” Prof Tam said. 

For Neville, the first non-trial patient to receive CAR-T therapy at The Alfred, the journey has been a success. 

“I’m now six months after my treatment and am effectively in remission,” Neville said.  

While Neville is now back to doing the things he loves, like spending time with his local church community, twice weekly golf sessions and volunteering at a historic tourist railway, there’s one important activity he’s looking forward to ticking off. 

“Now that we can plan the year ahead, I can’t wait to go camping again with my wife in the Northern Territory in July. 

“It’s something that we’ve always loved doing – and now that we have the time, and I have the good health – we’re going for it.” 

Find out more about Alfred Health's CAR-T Cell Therapy service