The Fight Against Cancer: A Personal Journey
Cancer patients and survivors are sharing their experiences with groundbreaking immunotherapy treatments in a special show called “Why Can’t We Cure Cancer: A National Conversation.” This program features individuals who have battled the disease and discusses innovative approaches to treatment. One of the key figures in this conversation is Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a renowned physician and billionaire entrepreneur.
Dr. Soon-Shiong developed the immunotherapy drug Anktiva, which works by supercharging the body’s natural killer cells to destroy tumors. The FDA approved it in April 2024, but only for a small subset of bladder cancer patients. Despite this, there is a significant demand for his clinical trials, with approximately 350,000 people on waiting lists and his clinic receiving 10,000 desperate requests for help daily.
James Johnson: A Story of Resilience
James Johnson’s cancer journey began in 2015 when a routine checkup revealed a tumor on his tonsil. After a year of brutal radiation and chemotherapy that left him with a feeding tube for 106 days and 45 pounds lighter, he was cancer-free for seven years. Then in 2022, the cancer returned with a vengeance, metastasizing to his liver in a way doctors had never seen with HPV-related cancer.
Johnson believes the COVID-19 vaccine may have reactivated his dormant HPV virus, a theory that remains controversial but drove him to seek alternative treatments. After being rejected from multiple clinical trials because pharmaceutical companies feared his unusual case would “skew their numbers,” Johnson found Dr. Soon-Shiong online. He started treatment in August 2025 and has made the cross-country trip from New York to California 16 times.
The results have been remarkable. Johnson takes a genetic blood test monthly designed exclusively for HPV patients. Anything over 3 is considered dangerous. Before treatment, he’d never been below 5 and had reached as high as 16,000. His last five tests have all shown zero. “I have no cancer, so I am doing great,” Johnson says. He now goes monthly for “boosters” to keep his natural killer cells strong.
Aline Kidd: A Living Testimony
Aline Kidd’s cancer journey began in 2021 when she heeded her ex-husband’s advice to get a colonoscopy screening; he had survived colon cancer himself. The test revealed stage 3 colon cancer. Doctors removed part of her colon, and with the cancer localized, she required no chemotherapy or radiation at first. Two years later, the cancer returned in her right ovary.
Kidd underwent 10 rounds of chemotherapy and surgery in November 2023, followed by a hysterectomy in the summer of 2024. When cancer appeared again in early 2025, Kidd started radiation and chemotherapy pills. Her oncologist told her about Dr. Soon-Shiong, and she was accepted into his clinical trial — she was No. 7 out of 350,000 people on the waiting list.
Originally from Namibia, just an hour and a half from Soon-Shiong’s native South Africa, Kidd has had seven treatment sessions since August 2025. The results have been transformative. “My white blood cells and immune system are so much stronger. Even my thinking is better. I have more energy than before,” Kidd says. Her previously elevated cancer markers have dramatically improved, and she no longer shows evidence of disease.
Alia Creidy: Advocacy for Access
Alia Creidy, 61, a special education teacher, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2023 after experiencing difficulty eliminating and what she thought was a pelvic floor issue. She underwent chemoradiation from August to September 2023, followed by more chemotherapy from January to April 2024. Cancer reappeared in her liver in early 2025. After surgery in April 2025, she started chemotherapy again.
Her sister heard about Dr. Soon-Shiong’s work, and Creidy has been on the clinical trial waiting list since March 2025. Creidy suffers from lymphopenia: abnormally low levels of lymphocytes, the white blood cells that protect against infection. She believes Soon-Shiong’s treatment could boost her lymphocytes, which is exactly what she needs to fight runaway cancer cells.
“I feel I am fighting with my hands tied behind my back,” Creidy said. “I have been responding to treatments, relatively speaking, but it is critical that my immune system (T cells, killer cells) is restored to hopefully win this battle.” Creidy advocates for patients’ right to choose their own treatment path.
Lada Lysniak: A Message of Purpose
Lada Lysniak’s first cancer diagnosis came in January 2007 when she found a lump in her breast. Doctors advised a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, warning she would die within five years without it. Instead, Lysniak, 58, quit her TV news job, adopted a raw food diet, ended 20 years of bulimia and focused on joy. She was cancer-free for 18 years, with only a lumpectomy.
But in February 2024, blood in her stool revealed colorectal cancer. This time, she had surgery and underwent Capox chemotherapy. She achieved complete response, but nine months later, the cancer returned with a rectal tumor. She completed chemo proton radiation in December 2025 with another apparent complete response.
Known as the “Unicorn Play Goddess,” Lysniak is a TEDx speaker, transformational coach and play advocate who wears a unicorn as a reminder that resilience can be joyful. She created a “Unicorn Dance” to spread connection and courage during hard times.
