Meet Cecilia

 

[Music]

CECILIA

Hi, my name is Cecilia.

BOB

Hi, my name is Bob.

CECILIA

We’ve been married

BOB

31, 32.

CECILIA

Thirty some years.

BOB

32

CECILIA

I love him. He’s easy to be around. We’ve got 2 kids, Lucas who’s 30 and Abigail, Abby, who’s 28. And, they’re probably the best thing we’ve ever done.

BOB

For sure. Great kids.

CECILIA

Kids are amazing. Great kids. We genuinely just enjoy each other’s company, make each other laugh. We laugh a lot.

CECILIA

I want to share my story to give people that hope.

CECILIA

In 2005 I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. When we got diagnosed, I very much looked at it like out of body, like surreal. But I wasn’t scared. I was more like, what, what do I need to do? Where do I need to go? You have 2 kids who need a mom. So, yeah. That's when it hit me and I was like, oh, okay. So it’s like you just got to tell me what I need to do because I have groceries I need to buy and like we have vacations we need to take. Tell me what I have to do to be here as long as I can.

BOB

You know, as soon as it happened, I remember in the hospital like hearing about it and I was just blown away. I'm thinking I have kids at home. How am I going to do this? Because if I was to lose her, I wouldn’t know what to do. I'd be lost.

[Music and nature sounds]

CECILIA

I tried many different treatments, including a PI, a monoclonal antibody, and an IMiD. You’d be on something, you’d be holding on, and then it’s not working, the cancer would start diving back. Just hearing that every time, like, okay, it’s not working. We’ve got to find something else. It’s a lot like all these different therapies would have different schedules. So it's just a lot of planning. Your life is wrapped around treatment. You just get so exhausted and then you like, the more you're not feeling well, these treatments are so hard. You know, they just beat you up. Every time one wouldn't work, you're just like, okay, how long is this? What are the side effects going to be? How often do I have to go in? It’s tiring.

CECILIA

CAR T cell therapy was first introduced to me by my long-term doctor, my doctor I had since day one, who’s a specialist in multiple myeloma. When I first heard about CAR T therapy, it was a new concept to me. It was crazy to me to think like it’s just this one-time infusion.

CECILIA

And so I started like trying to understand like what that process would be like.

BOB

We talked about it for quite a while. With our trust in her doctor, it was a full go. I mean in my mind, no matter what.

CECILIA

When it was time for my infusion of ABECMA, I went into the hospital for the collection of my T cells in a process called apheresis. From there, my cells were sent off to a manufacturing facility where they were transformed into CAR T cells. Once the cells were ready, we came back to the treatment center. I received a short course of chemotherapy to prepare my body for my infusion of CAR T. And then it was time for ABECMA. After my infusion, we stayed at the hospital for 7 days to be monitored for side effects, including CRS and neurological effects. I developed a low-grade fever, which was treated, and that was the extent of it. We had to stay nearby the treatment center for weeks following treatment. Having a specialized team ready to deal with anything made me feel confident.

BOB

When it came about, the side effects was the biggest thing I worried about. But I just trusted our doctor because he was phenomenal to deal with.

[Music]

[Music & VO]

ABECMA also known as idecabtagene vicleucel is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM), when: you have tried two or more kinds of treatments that have not worked or have stopped working, and you have received at least one therapy from each of these drug classes: an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, an anti-CD38 antibody.

WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS

ABECMA may cause side effects that are life-threatening and can lead to death, including risk of cytokine release syndrome, also called CRS, neurologic toxicity, infections, low blood cell counts, also called cytopenia, and certain types of blood cancers.

Call your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: trouble breathing, fever, (100.4°F or 38°C or higher), chills or shivering, confusion, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, shaking or twitching (tremor), fast or irregular heartbeat, feeling severely tired or weak, severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Because of the risk of serious side effects, your healthcare provider will give you an ABECMA Patient Wallet Card that describes symptoms to look out for that require emergency medical care right away. It's important that you tell your healthcare providers that you have received ABECMA and to show them your ABECMA Patient Wallet Card. Your healthcare provider may give you other medicines to treat your side effects.

See additional Important Safety Information at the end of this video, and full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide at ABECMA.com

CECILIA

I had cancer actively for years. So that becomes your job, that becomes your life. Like that’s what you know. Then you believe it because you see the test results, you see the numbers diving. It's hard to put into words the freedom, the like the weight off your shoulder.

BOB

It was a big weight off our back, that’s for sure, a huge weight.

CECILIA

After ABECMA, getting back home was like just jumping right back in. But you’re still getting monitored. Coming home and again just like talking with the kids. Like is this really happening?

BOB

And just to get outside and do things together and walk every day and be around the family, you know, all together all the time.

CECILIA

So, our next vacation, what are you thinking? Like where would be a fun place to go?

LUCAS

You guys want to come to New York?

BOB

Love coming home every day to her and come home, walk in the door, and just see her smile. That's all. Makes my day.

CECILIA

My life, our life after ABECMA is freedom. It's not being tied or having to think about more treatment. You're free. It's everything. Enjoying our kids, looking forward to moments that we’ll get to watch to enjoy just dumb stuff, walking our dogs, falling asleep together on the couch.

CECILIA

Like what greater gift is there to give than the gift of time to be with our loved ones?

[Music]

VO

ABECMA, also known as idecabtagene vicleucel, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM), when: you have tried two or more kinds of treatments that have not worked or have stopped working, and you have received at least one therapy from each of these drug classes: an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, an anti-CD38 antibody.

WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS

ABECMA may cause side effects that are life-threatening and can lead to death, including risk of cytokine release syndrome, also called CRS, neurologic toxicity, infections, low blood cell counts, also called cytopenia, and certain types of blood cancers.

Call your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: trouble breathing, fever (100.4°F or 38°C or higher), chills or shivering, confusion, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, shaking or twitching (tremor), fast or irregular heartbeat, feeling severely tired or weak, severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Because of the risk of serious side effects, your healthcare provider will give you an ABECMA Patient Wallet Card that describes symptoms to look out for that require emergency medical care right away. It's important that you tell your healthcare providers that you have received ABECMA and to show them your ABECMA Patient Wallet Card. Your healthcare provider may give you other medicines to treat your side effects.

How will I receive ABECMA?

ABECMA is a CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy. It is a prescription medicine made using your own white blood cells. These white blood cells have been changed (genetically modified) to find and attack your multiple myeloma cells. ABECMA is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion.

Before receiving your ABECMA infusion: Your blood cells will be collected by a process called leukapheresis, sometimes called apheresis.

Your blood cells will be sent to a manufacturing site to make your ABECMA. Based on clinical trial experience, your ABECMA will be ready to be shipped back to your healthcare provider about 4 weeks after your cells are received at the manufacturing site, but the time may vary. Your healthcare provider will give you 3 days of chemotherapy to prepare your body before receiving your ABECMA treatment.

On the day of your ABECMA infusion: you will receive ABECMA through a tube (catheter) placed into your vein (intravenous infusion). Your dose of ABECMA may be given in one or more infusion bags. Each infusion bag usually takes up to 30 minutes.

After receiving your ABECMA infusion: For at least 1 week (7 days) after receiving ABECMA, you will stay at the facility where you received your treatment and be monitored daily. For 2 weeks after receiving ABECMA, you should plan to stay close (within 2 hours) to the facility where you received your treatment. During this time, your healthcare provider will check to see that your treatment is working and help you with any side effects that may occur.

What should I avoid after receiving ABECMA?

Do not drive for at least 2 weeks after you get ABECMA. Do not donate blood, organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation.

What are the possible or reasonably likely side effects of ABECMA?

Serious side effects. ABECMA can increase the risk of serious side effects. A serious side effect is a side effect that is severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. The serious side effects of ABECMA include, but are not limited to:

Early deaths. In a clinical study comparing ABECMA to standard treatments, a higher proportion of people died in the first 9 months from when they were assigned to receive ABECMA compared to people assigned to receive standard treatments. The higher rate of early death was seen before people received ABECMA, and the main reason was that their multiple myeloma had gotten worse. There was also an increase in the rate of death from side effects after receiving ABECMA.

Cytokine release syndrome, also called CRS. ABECMA can increase the risk of CRS, a very common side effect which can be severe or fatal. CRS happens when the immune system responds to an infection or a drug more aggressively than it should. Symptoms to look out for include: fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), trouble breathing, dizziness or lightheadedness, nausea, headache, fast heartbeat, low blood pressure, feeling tired or weak.

Infections. ABECMA can increase the risk of life-threatening infections that may lead to death. Symptoms to look out for include: fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), chills, any other signs or symptoms of an infection.

Low blood cell counts, also known as cytopenia. ABECMA can lower the number of one or more types of your blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets), which may make you feel weak or tired, and could increase your risk of severe infection or bleeding. After treatment, your healthcare provider will test your blood to check for this. Symptoms to look out for include: fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), feeling weak or tired, bruising, bleeding.

Other (secondary) blood cancers. ABECMA may increase your risk of getting certain types of cancers, including certain types of blood cancers. You may hear your healthcare provider call these “secondary hematological malignancies.” Your healthcare provider should monitor you for any signs of secondary cancers.

ABECMA may cause a false-positive HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) test result by some commercial tests.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms after receiving ABECMA. Remember to bring and show your ABECMA Patient Wallet Card to any healthcare provider who treats you.

Most common side effects

The most common side effects of ABECMA include: feeling tired or weak, fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), chills or shivering, severe nausea or diarrhea, decreased appetite, headache, dizziness or lightheadedness, confusion, trouble speaking or slurred speech, cough, trouble breathing, fast or irregular heartbeat.

These are not all the possible side effects of ABECMA.

Talk to your healthcare team for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report side effects to Bristol Myers Squibb at ABECMA.com or by calling 1-888-805-4555, or to the FDA by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.

For more information, please see the U.S. Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNINGS, and Medication Guide for ABECMA at ABECMA.com. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information about this medication.

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