Minnesota Woman Says Measles Cured Her Cancer
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From her home in Pequot Lakes, Stacy Erholtz described what it's like to be part of medical history.
"I think it already is huge. It's huge in the making," she said.
For ten years, Erholtz has battled multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.
She was out of options last summer when the Mayo Clinic chose her for an experimental procedure where they injected her with a large amount of the measles virus.
"Afterwards I found out it was enough vaccination to inoculate ten million people," said Erholtz.
Despite that, she describes the treatment the easiest she's ever had, lasting only about 40 minutes.
The only side effects were a very painful headache and fever, but both disappeared fairly quickly she says, and as it turns out, so did her cancer.
"I had a plasmacytoma right here on my forehead the size of a golf ball and within 36 hours it was gone," said Erholtz.
Her doctor, Stephen Russell, says for years researchers have known that viruses could kill cancers, at least in animals, but never in humans, until now.
"Viruses can work as a vaccine, and if you inject a virus into a tumor you can provoke the immune system to then come and destroy that cancer and other cancers," said Dr. Russell.
While it still needs to be replicated, what's happening here is providing the one thing everyone battling cancer so desperately needs: hope.
"It's the way of the future, and I'm so excited for other people to experience this," said Erholtz.
Mayor Clinic is moving toward another clinical trial involving more patients.
It hopes to get FDA approval for the treatment within four years.