A Veteran Reflects on CAR T-Cell Therapy and Isolation

Mark Daniels, an 83-year-old veteran, pilot and gym enthusiast, has faced lymphoma twice and credits CAR T-cell therapy with saving his life.

In the video, Daniels shares how he approached the unknowns of CAR T-cell therapy with the same rigor he brought to flying Navy fighter jets and commercial aircraft. “You don’t go into something that complex without understanding it,” he says. He recalls the support he received from Dr. André Goy and the care team at John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack Meridian Health, including a head nurse who took time to explain the treatment in detail.

Goy serves as physician in chief of Oncology Care Transformation Services at Hackensack Meridian Health. He is also chairman and chief physician officer of John Theurer Cancer Center and leads the lymphoma division at the center’s location within Hackensack University Medical Center.

Daniels describes the physical and emotional toll of CAR T, especially the isolation: “It’s kind of like being in solitary.”

Despite this, he goes on to emphasizes the professionalism and compassion of every nurse he encountered — more than 100, by his count — as a critical part of his experience.

Now in remission, Daniels remains grateful for the science and the people who guided him through.

Transcript

What was your experience like with CAR T-cell therapy, and how did you stay positive through its challenges?

Well, first of all, one of the things about approaching something scary is that you don’t have all the knowledge. You have to gather information — find out what exactly they’re going to do, what it’s designed to do, how it works, what the prognosis is, what the chances are. I think Hackensack does a terrific job with that.

I expressed my reservations to Dr. Goy about the whole thing — I just didn’t understand it. And again, maybe as an aside, going back, you don’t strap into a Navy fighter jet and go flying unless you understand everything that’s going on. It can be very deadly if you don’t have all your ducks in a row. Same with commercial airline flying. Every six months, they send you to a simulator where they set engines on fire, break pressurization — all kinds of things. You have to be prepared.

Well, going into something like CAR T, I didn’t even know what it stood for. You hear ‘CAR T’ and — total blank. Dr. Goy arranged for the head nurse to come and talk to me. She was such a nice lady. She didn’t come in with the attitude of “I’ve got 10 minutes, what do you want to know?” It was more like, “I’m here — ask me questions.” And she told me the what, why, how, when, where — everything. That puts you at ease. And then, you just go through it. You suck it up.

You know it’s not going to be fun. Nothing is — whether you're getting your tonsils out, your tooth pulled, or you have a broken ankle — it’s not fun. It’s not something you say, “Oh, what are we doing this weekend? Let’s go get CAR T.” It’s not like that. But because you understand it, and because you have every confidence in the professionals...

And as an aside, I have to say: through all of this, I probably interacted with easily over 100 different nurses. Every single one of them, without exception, was knowledgeable, competent, and compassionate. They really interacted with you.

When you’re going through CAR T, you’re kind of isolated. I said to someone, it’s kind of like being in prison—like when you’re a bad prisoner, and they put you in solitary. That’s kind of what CAR T is. You’re in solitary. Usually, the only person you see is one nurse, and she’s wearing a mask, gloves, gown — all of that. That part, I think, was the hardest: the isolation. The days seemed like weeks.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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