It was Easter 2025 when Kade, a 38-year-old spray painter from south western Victoria, started suffering from a piercing headache that radiated from his neck.
After nearly two months of advocating for himself and having blood tests, ultrasounds, CT scans, and a PET scan in Geelong, he found out what was causing the pain.
Kade’s GP told him he had lymphoma, and a biopsy done by a haematologist in Warrnambool confirmed it was B-cell lymphoma with a 70% chance of 5-year survival.
The news was a shock, but after a few days of processing Kade went into action mode getting active and working out a treatment plan with his cancer care team.
“When you find out something like that, it can rattle you a little bit,” Kade says. “Once I got the game plan of what we were going to do… I wasn’t as nervous. I don’t like going into the unknown of things.”
Kade during his cancer treatment.
Finding the right treatment for you
The day before he was meant to start chemotherapy, Kade’s doctor called him to talk about a clinical trial in Warrnambool which she thought could give his treatment a boost and possibly improve his chances of beating the lymphoma.
Kade had never heard of clinical trials before, but he trusted his doctor’s judgement and knew he’d be willing to consider anything that’d give him a better chance.
“A one per cent chance or a two per cent chance is still better than a no per cent chance.”
The next day he met with his doctor and the clinical trial team to hear more about what the trial involved and any potential side effects. The trial was testing the effectiveness and safety of a drug called golcadomide when given in combination with R-CHOP chemotherapy, compared to placebo and R-CHOP chemotherapy.
“She described everything perfectly to us. There was no coaxing into it,” Kade says. “The best way they told me, it was kind of like Harry Potter with the invisible cloak… and [golcadomide] takes the invisible cloak off, so your immune system can try and fight it as well.”
Local access to optimal care
Kade went into Warrnambool for chemotherapy every three weeks for five months total. He’s “beyond ecstatic” that he had access to a clinical trial in Warrnambool, rather than having to travel an extra two or three hours to Geelong or Melbourne.
“That meant a lot to be able to have that kind of facility and those options close to home,” he says.
Other than spending the day in hospital every few weeks, and taking his daily pills, Kade was able to return to daily life, working reduced hours and spending time with his family.
Looking back, Kade can’t imagine how difficult it must be for those who were feeling worse than he did and who had no choice to travel for their treatment and tests.
“I would have taken the chance to go to Melbourne, but a lot of people probably wouldn’t. A lot of people would have been a lot sicker than me and that four-hour drive… that’d be a killer.”
Kade in his first boxing match after finishing his cancer treatment.
The impact of clinical trials
By October the clinical trial had come to an end, and Kade was in remission. He says he’s bounced back well, having not experienced many side effects throughout treatment, and even returned to the boxing ring not long after his three-month checkup.
Looking ahead, he hopes the future is a lot brighter for people with any kind of blood cancer thanks to the trial and the people involved who are helping to advance cancer care.
“Every time they say there’s a new breakthrough in something, all the work that went into it didn’t really cross my mind until now,” he says. “That science is really taking leaps and bounds.”
His main hope is to never have to go through cancer treatment again. But if he does, he says he wouldn’t hesitate to join another cancer clinical trial.
“I feel like you’re a little bit crazy not to do it – not to give yourself that better chance.”
Visit Victorian Cancer Trials Link to search for cancer trials available in Victoria.