Meet Jim
[Music]
JIM
Hi, I’m Jim, I’m 75 years old.
RO
And I’m Ro, and I’m 74 years old. Jim and I have been married for 52 years.
JIM
And recently moved down to Hilton Head, South Carolina.
RO
We chose Hilton Head cause of the bike trails and the nice weather.
JIM
I love to be outside.
RO
Lots of gardening, he’s always outside doing something.
JIM
That’s my therapy.
[Music]
JIM
My life, and Ro’s life, was looking pretty good. We were having a great time, and at that time I was feeling a little bit tired.
RO
I could tell Jim was off, but I couldn’t tell why.
JIM
I went to the urgent care and they took blood. Well, it wasn’t 24 hours that he called me back and said, “Come on back down here.” And he said, “Your blood is totally out of whack.” And at that time we then got the referrals to go see an oncologist. That took two weeks.
RO
That’s when Jim was getting worse every day. By the time we got to the oncologist, he said, “What are you doing here?” It’s the first thing he said to us. He said, “You should be in the hospital.” He said, “Because this guy, he doesn’t have two weeks.” He said, “He’s got two days to be diagnosed.”
JIM
I’ve been living with multiple myeloma since January 12th, 2022. That’s when we were diagnosed. As a result of my diagnosis, I had to put my passion of gardening on hold. I love to be outside. I had to give up taking care of the lawn to a lawn service, because I just kept getting weaker and weaker.
RO
Jim went through a series of different treatments and we were very optimistic, obviously, because each one seemed to work but it would work to a point. And then after that, we would just reach a plateau and that drug wasn’t working anymore. So, we would have new hope, we’d have a new drug and we would try that out, and we would also get progress, and it would stop.
JIM
We went through different stages of that to where the last stage got it close, but they didn’t get it down to the level that I could qualify for, at that time, stem cells.
[Music]
JIM
When my multiple myeloma came back, I had already tried three different treatments. So, my doctor decided it was time for CAR T cell therapy with ABECMA.
[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
RO
We grabbed at the opportunity. We had never heard of CAR T. It was not on our radar at all. It gave us great hope that this is something that could put Jim in remission. We were scared, and we were going to go for it.
JIM
Hmm, yes.
RO
The first questions I had were the side effects, and I was concerned about that. But you know, they definitely eased my mind. They’re so thorough, and they were there for us. And I felt so much trust in the oncology team that we were working with.
JIM
I’ve never seen doctors work like that, that they communicated with one another. And that made a whole lot of difference to me because I felt very confident in what they were telling us about CAR T cells. I felt extremely confident, and I know Ro did too.
[Music]
JIM
Well, the difference with ABECMA was that they were collecting cells from my body.
JIM
And to collect my cells and put something in those cells, put them back into my body, have them fight the cancer in my body. That’s amazing. And that was what sold me on the whole thing.
RO
They had it well thought out. By the time we got it, I felt like we had such a team working for us.
JIM
During the infusion process, I felt fine, and I was just praying to God that everything would be good.
[Music]
RO
We were constantly monitored.
JIM
We got monitored every day for how many days?
RO
30 days.
JIM
30 days. Every day in the morning we were there and blood work and everything else.
JIM
My doctor explained the side effects of ABECMA that I might have, CRS or neurotoxicity.
JIM
Post ABECMA infusion, I continued to have fatigue. My fatigue was prominent. I had a lot of fatigue—there were times when I couldn’t even stay up for an hour.
RO
The other thing too, which I found was very interesting, is that you have to have a caregiver for CAR T. That’s required.
RO
Our healthcare team told me to be on lookout for signs of CRS and neurotoxicity, which could be serious side effects. I was concerned about the neurotoxicity.
RO
They said, “We’re on the lookout for it. We’re going to train you to be on the lookout for it.” And they were constantly monitoring Jim as well as I was getting educated on how to monitor it, and what I should do if it should occur. So, I was ready if that should happen. Every day when they would send us home, they would say, you know, make sure you look out for this. We’d get all our bloodwork back before we came, so if there was any red flag, or if he needed saline, or anything at all, they took care of it while we were there. And they also, once we left the hospital to go back to our apartment, we went back, they sent us an iPad and a scale, blood pressure cuff, an oxygen thing for your finger, and Jim had to do that every three hours.
JIM
If you didn’t, you’d get a call.
RO
And it went right back to the hospital. If you didn’t do it, they would call you. So, I felt like no stone was unturned, that this process was so well thought out and so well orchestrated.
JIM
Our transition back home from the hospital, was uneventful because we were prepared to leave, and we were well prepared to understand what we had to do.
RO
For myself, personally, when we left after 30 days of being monitored with ABECMA and CAR T cell therapy, it was like cutting a cord.
RO
I felt a little scared. And then also, on the other side of the coin, we walked in and it was like, oh my gosh.
JIM
We came home, and it was like a breath of fresh air.
RO
It’s like being away from your home for a long time, coming back again and just being joyous to be out of a hospital, out of this apartment we were renting, more control over what we wanted to eat, when we wanted to do things. So, it was a little bit of both for me.
JIM
We left the hospital and they said to us basically that, “Yes, it’s looking really good.” What was his exact words?
RO
His exact words were, “There is no evidence of myeloma.”
JIM
Because ABECMA’s given as a one-time infusion, I don’t need ongoing infusions, or other medications for the multiple myeloma.
JIM
Life today for me, is living each day and every moment in that day, because as confident as I am, I don’t want to miss a day with Ro, and fulfilling a day with what I want to do.
JIM
I love to be outside; I love to take care of the house. Gosh, to lift a spade of dirt, and cut out the beds, I love doing that. Oh my goodness.
RO
And I think that Jim is right. It's just to make the most of every day that you have, you learn the fragility of life when you have cancer.
JIM
The most significant thing that I learned about myself was the determination to get better. That I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way. I want to share this story with other people so that they have hope. And that would be what I would say, you know, why I’m here. I want you to know, again, I’m here, and I’m in remission. Never give up, just keep going.
RO
Oh, I feel the same way. I feel that Jim is doing great. Life is a little bit different, but Jim is alive, he’s here, and we are so grateful for it.
JIM
The love that I got while I was going through ABECMA, from her... thank you.
Ro:
You’re welcome.
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.