How We Got Here

I believe I’ve lived with Lupus for over 30 years, although I wasn’t officially diagnosed until about 20 years ago. It was a brilliant Rheumatologist who finally connected the dots and began treating me properly. By that point, Lupus had already left a significant mark on my body. I had my first stroke at 28, and another at 40. My lungs now function at only 67% capacity. My liver, kidneys, intestines, bones, endocrine system and blood have all suffered permanent damage. I take 29 medications a day, require oxygen, and undergo three different infusion treatments each month.

Over time, I’ve come to believe that our immune systems eventually adapt to the medications we take—biologics, chemotherapy agents, immunosuppressants—until they stop working. We need something better.

I first became aware of stem cell therapy when Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern began treating autoimmune diseases with stem cell transplants. In those early days, the process involved wiping out the immune system with chemotherapy, followed by an infusion of embryonic or donor stem cells. Sadly, many Lupus patients didn’t survive this “wipeout” phase because our damaged organs couldn’t handle it, and our bodies often rejected the foreign cells. As a result, stem cell therapy for Lupus became largely dismissed.

In addition to Lupus, I also have MGUS, which in some patients can develop into multiple myeloma. My doctor at MD Anderson explored the possibility of using stem cells typically reserved for myeloma treatment. Since stem cells travel throughout the body, they believed the therapy might still offer benefits. Unfortunately, my organ damage disqualified me from transplant. But the stem cell team encouraged me to look into Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells — stem cells harvested from my own fat tissue, processed, and re-infused to help reboot the immune system.

For years, I followed the evolution of this promising therapy. The problem? It was legal to harvest stem cells in the U.S., but not to re-infuse them here. That meant traveling to Panama, Mexico, or Spain — a terrifying and uncertain prospect for someone with my medical history.

Today, that’s changed. Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy is now available in the United States. I’ve met people who have gone into remission from Lupus, MS, Parkinson’s, and Crohn’s disease thanks to this treatment. This is real — but it’s still expensive and not widely accessible. I’ve spent the last 15 years chasing the dream that regenerative medicine could not just treat, but cure Lupus.

In 2022, Hope Biosciences administered Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy to a 65-year-old woman who had battled Lupus for nearly three decades. She’d tried more than 17 different treatment regimens, including chemotherapy. Initially, she received stem cells as part of a COVID-19 immune study — not for Lupus. But unexpectedly, her Lupus symptoms improved dramatically. So much so that her physician discontinued her Lupus medications entirely. She was then approved for nine additional infusion treatments focused specifically on Lupus. Today, she is in full remission.

Now, Team “Are We There Yetz” has started a fund to support a study involving 15 Lupus warriors — to prove that we can treat, and possibly even cure, this disease.

I believe this is our moment. Regenerative medicine holds the potential to change everything. Let’s pave the way — together.

What Lupus and treatment look like....but you don't look sick