Linda Lane was still fatigued months after having COVID-19 in January of 2021.
“I told my doctor that I had not been this tired since I had a newborn in the house,” says Lane, now 57 and living on Cape Cod. “That got her attention.”
Her bloodwork came back with abnormal results. By May, the diagnosis was looking a lot like multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of blood cells called plasma cells.
Lane was familiar with the disease. Her father-in-law had it in the 1990s and passed away in 2002. Lane and her husband Ted were devastated by the thought that she might experience something similar.
After consulting with two local doctors, she decided to come to Dana-Farber to meet with myeloma expert Omar Nadeem, MD. Nadeem listened to their fears and promptly explained to them that treatment is very different now.
“It took a while for us to believe him, but eventually we did,” says Lane. “We were in free-fall.”
Fast-forward to today and Lane is in complete remission, with no sign of disease. After going through standard treatment for the disease and experiencing a relapse, Lane opted to have CAR T-cell therapy in May of 2025.
CAR T-cell therapy reshapes myeloma treatment
CAR T-cell therapy is an immunotherapy that engineers a patient’s own immune system to fight against the cancer. The therapy was first approved in 2021 for patients with multiple myeloma who had relapsed after many lines of therapy.
Now CAR T-cell therapy has been approved for use as second-line therapy because it has worked so well in clinical trials. For example, in one pivotal study, approximately one-third of myeloma patients who received CAR T-cell therapy after many previous therapies have not relapsed in more than five years.
“I don’t know if Linda has been cured or not, but that possibility is coming up more and more with patients,” says Nadeem. “I can very comfortably use the word complete remission. It’s as good a response as you can ask for.”
Taking advantage of outpatient CAR T-cell therapy
Another advancement in CAR T-cell therapy is that some patients can now receive it in the outpatient clinic with no or a limited hospital stay. In the past, patients needed to be closely monitored in the hospital so that potentially dangerous side effects of the therapy could be managed immediately.
Today, however, the administration of CAR T-cell therapy has become masterfully choreographed at Dana-Farber. The team approach was developed after years of experience administering the therapy and learning what to expect and when.
“We have built the infrastructure to support outpatient treatment and have one team of experts that that sees the patient throughout,” says Nadeem.
For Lane, the experience left an impression.
“It was clear that everyone on the team – the schedulers, the lab techs, the nurses, the PAs and physicians were all working together,” she says. “All we needed to do was show up.”
Lane was able to stay in a nearby apartment throughout most of the process. She’d brought her own blankets from home and her own blender so she could be comfortable and enjoy her favorite foods.
When Lane’s cells were ready for infusion, her social worker asked her if she wanted the Dana-Farber chaplain bless them. As a person of faith, she jumped at the chance. She marveled at the tiny 70 milliliter “bag of life” and at the chaplain’s effort, because he had to work with her team to find a time that fit her infusion schedule.
“This team delivered such comprehensive care – physical, mental, and spiritual.” she says.
After the infusion of the CAR T cells, Lane was able to return to her home away from home and relax. Before her day four check-up at Dana-Farber, she even walked two miles on Lilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum.
“I’m so happy people can now have this outpatient option,” she says.
On day five, she felt the care team bracing for impact. For most patients, this is when the CAR T cells begin working and potentially causing side effects such as cytokine release syndrome, which is an overreaction of the immune system. The team anticipated Lane’s fever and had her admitted on day 6 to manage her side effects.
“They were just so smart,” says Lane. “They knew exactly what would happen next and exactly what to do.”
Looking forward
Before Lane’s CAR T-cell therapy, she had been treated with several rounds of a cocktail of drugs. When treatment was over, she continued to take a collection of medicines known as maintenance therapy designed to keep the myeloma at bay.
The burden of taking that therapy indefinitely surprised her.
“When I first went on to maintenance, it was very discouraging because I had thought I was going to be done,” she says. “Then I realized, no, I was never going to be done.”
After CAR T-cell therapy, however, Lane does not need maintenance therapy. She will take a supportive therapy for a few more months, but after that, she will not require medication if she stays in remission.
She and her husband are planning a trip sometime soon to celebrate, but mostly Lane is adjusting to the idea of getting back to normal. Just a few months ago, that idea seemed unattainable.
“I truly cannot express my appreciation enough,” she says. “Dana-Faber has left us hopeful and grateful.”
About the Medical Reviewer
Dr. Nadeem completed his internal medicine residency training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and his hematology/oncology fellowship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He joined the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2018 where he is a Senior Physician and serves as the Clinical Director of the Myeloma Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program and as the Clinical Director of the Center for Early Detection and Interception of Blood Cancers. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. He is an Associate Director of the Myeloma Clinical Research Program and serves as a principal investigator on several clinical trials ranging from precursor plasma cell disorders to relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. His research interests include MGUS and smoldering myeloma and immunotherapy in multiple myeloma, with particular focus on CAR T-cell therapy.
I’ve been researching various approaches to managing multiple myeloma and came across some interesting insights on the benefits of cycling during treatment. It made me wonder how effective CAR T-cell therapy, as discussed in this article, could be in allowing patients to reclaim their physical activity levels post-treatment. For more on how cycling can empower those battling myeloma, check out https://mccycling.org/pedaling-through-myeloma-a-cyclists-handbook. Has anyone here experienced improvements in their fitness or lifestyle after starting CAR T-cell therapy?