Fiona Stanley Hospital trial gives myeloma patient new strength, sparks call for early health checks

After experiencing the impact of a new clinical trial at Fiona Stanley Hospital, myeloma patient Loreta Hill is encouraging other Aboriginal people to prioritise their health and seek help from healthcare professionals.

“Cancer is daunting. I think people need to be aware of their health,” Loreta said.

“If you’re not well, go and seek help but always have your close family by your side.”

Loreta, who has myeloma, said her message to Aboriginal people was about not putting off medical care and knowing that help, including clinical trials, is available.

Her call comes as she has had life-changing care through a clinical trial investigating CAR T‑cell therapy for people with myeloma, a rare but incurable blood cancer that often requires ongoing treatment over many years.

Before joining the trial, Ms Hill said her initial treatment was physically exhausting and took a significant toll on her daily life.

“I was quite sick and very weak. You just can’t do anything. Your body, sometimes it just shuts down,” she said.

“The first treatment I was bedridden. I lost my hair, and it just drained me.”

Her treatment involved weekly hospital visits and long periods of recovery, leaving little energy for everyday activities or family life.

That experience changed dramatically when Loreta joined the CAR T‑cell clinical trial. Instead of ongoing treatment, she received a single infusion of the therapy and now only needs to return to hospital once a month for check‑up appointments.

“I can now stay home and help with my grandkids and do things that I love, like going to watch my grandies play football and sports,” she said.

The clinical trial is examining whether CAR T‑cell therapy can provide patients with more time away from hospital and fewer side effects compared with standard treatments. Myeloma is considered treatable but incurable, which means many patients must move from one treatment to another as the disease relapses.

CAR T‑cell therapy involves collecting a patient’s own T‑cells, a type of white blood cell, which are then sent overseas to be genetically modified to better recognise and destroy cancer cells. The modified cells are later infused back into the patient as a one‑off treatment, followed by ongoing monitoring rather than continuous therapy.

Fiona Stanley Hospital Consultant Haematologist Dr Stephanie Lam said the therapy had already shown the potential to reduce the time patients spend in hospital.

“Most myeloma treatments are given forever more, until they either stop working or the patient gets side effects, and we have to stop it,” Dr Lam said.

“Whereas CAR-T you give it and then we just monitor them.”

Dr Lam said if the therapy proves more effective than standard care, it could become more widely available beyond the clinical trial setting.

“We’re hopeful that there will be commercial access to CAR-T by the end of the year,” she said, noting that current approval pathways are usually limited to patients who have already undergone multiple lines of treatment.

Loretta said she hoped her experience would encourage Aboriginal people to look after their health and to know that support and care were available from the ‘beautiful’ hospital staff.

“The staff here at the hospital have all been beautiful – just beautiful,” said Loreta.

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