Reporter will use Gleevec in his cancer fight

By ERIC DEGGANS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 11, 2001

WFLA-Ch. 8 reporter Lance Williams brought a personal perspective to the station's coverage of the new leukemia drug, Gleevec, on Thursday, telling viewers his own story of struggling with a form of the disease.

Williams, 44, found out Thursday that he can begin taking Gleevec today as part of a study on the drug's effectiveness -- news that came one day after the reporter learned his cancer had come out of remission and required immediate treatment.

"For me, it means the difference between lying on my back in a hospital feeling near death after chemotherapy treatments, or taking a pill and continuing to work and be with my family," said Williams, diagnosed in October with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (also known as lymphocytic leukemia or ALL). An employee at WFLA since 1990, he has a wife and two children, including a baby born last summer.

"It was nice to be able to share that with other people and perhaps inspire them," added the reporter, who took questions from WFLA anchors Bob Hite and Gayle Sierens Thursday. "I can't tell you how great this is ... because it was a pretty dark day on (Wednesday)."

After his initial diagnosis, Williams spent more than three months at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center undergoing chemotherapy treatments. On May 1, he started back to work at WFLA as a copy editor and occasional on-air reporter.

He hopes the Gleevec will stop the progress of his cancer enough to permit a return to his original treatment plan: a bone marrow transplant in California in six to eight weeks and at least four months of recovery.

More information:

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: 1-800-955-4572, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. EDT

National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service: 1-800-422-6237 or at cancertrials.nci.nih.gov

American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org

Novartis Oncology's Gleevec site: www.gleevec.com

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