This documentary is educational programming produced with financial support from Karyopharm Therapeutics. The content of this program has been determined independently.
Chrissy Degennaro has been battling a fairly rare type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma for nearly 14 years. When she was first diagnosed at age 36, Chrissy had a son under two years old. She never thought she’d live to see him enter kindergarten — let alone anything after that. But thanks to incredible medical advances, Chrissy has been there for all of her son’s milestones.
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A little over a year ago, a PET scan revealed that her cancer had spread — and her doctor told her there was simply no treatment option for her anymore.
“Once again I had to call my husband and tell him, the cancer’s back — and there’s nothing left,” Chrissy says. “If I didn’t start XPOVIO in September, I don’t think I would be here.”
XPOVIA (generic name selinexor) received federal approval last summer for the use, in combination with other therapies, in people with multiple myeloma who were not responding to other treatments. The drug was developed by Karyopharm Therapeutics which provided financial support to SurvivorNet for the development of this content. It works by suppressing a protein that is often found in tumor cells — which then exports tumor suppressor proteins out of the cell’s nucleus. By accumulating tumor suppressors in the nucleus, the goal is to essentially kill off tumor cells.
For Chrissy — the treatment has had a positive response, when she thought there was nowhere left to turn. Of course, like all drugs,
“Here’s this drug and it ate up all the tumors … they were gone,” she said, reflecting on a PET scan she had around Thanksgiving last year. “…I keep finding ways, treatments, and I’m still here. Since I’m on XPOVIO and I see results, I see it working, the future is looking pretty good right now.”
“I’m able to be here for more milestones for my son, more milestones, more birthdays,” Chrissy added. “I do feel like I’ve had another chance at life.”