Less than three years ago, Tina Willits, now 53, thought she only had two years to live.
She is now cancer-free and wants the world to know about the treatment that saved her.
The Florida mother and grandmother first felt a lump in late 2021, just months after a routine mammogram.
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In March 2022, she was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor in which cancer cells have abnormally high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).
“I still remember the doctor coming in and saying it was in my lymph nodes, my ribs, my spine, my sternum, my bones,” Willits told FOX News Digital during an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
Tina Willits, a 53-year-old Florida mother and grandmother, thought she had two years to live, but she is now cancer-free. (Tina Willits)
Willits was told she had a golf ball-sized tumor that was too advanced for a mastectomy. She underwent terminal chemotherapy and was told to “enjoy the time she has left.”
“The doctor said to me, ‘We’ll try to stop it from progressing.’ But she said, ‘Probably the longest we can offer you is about 24 months.'”
“I wanted it to disappear.”
Willits wasn’t satisfied with just stopping the cancer.
“I had five biological children, I was raising two of the bonus babies, and I had four grandchildren at the time,” she said.
“And I decided I wanted it to go away. That was my goal. And I remember my oncologist saying that would never happen.”
“The doctor told me, ‘The maximum life expectancy we can offer you is about 24 months.'”
After doing her own research, Willits learned about an alternative treatment called immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells.
For decades, the go-to treatments for cancer have been chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, but some experts are calling immunotherapy the “fourth pillar” of cancer treatment. .
“I had five biological children, I was raising two of my bonus babies, and I had four grandchildren at the time,” Willits said of why she decided to beat cancer. . (Tina Willits)
During her research, she met Dr. Jason R. Williams of the Williams Cancer Institute in California. He is proposing a new cancer treatment that uses cold gas and the body’s own cells to freeze tumors and fight them.
“Immunotherapy teaches the immune system to attack cancer,” Williams told FOX News Digital. “So, like a vaccine, it can produce a long-lasting response, which is what is needed to achieve a cure.”
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Willits and her husband called her doctor, who immediately began evaluating her symptoms.
“Even though the cancer was advanced, she was in good physical condition,” Williams said of Willits. “She was undergoing chemotherapy and remained in very good health, even though it was progressive and metastatic.”
He added: “I was confident, but cautious. Cancer is a very formidable enemy.”
Willits was photographed at her wedding before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I’m a part of my family’s life every day,” she told FOX News Digital. (Tina Willits)
Williams gave Willits something he didn’t have before: hope.
“He was an incredible person. After seeing all my test results, he said, ‘I can fix you,'” she told FOX News Digital. “And stage 4 patients don’t understand those words.”
Six weeks after undergoing a course of immunotherapy, which combines supplements to strengthen the immune system and cryoablation, which uses freezing temperatures to destroy cancer cells, a PET scan shows Willits’ cancer is gone. It turned out that there was.
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Willits is currently in stable and healthy condition.
“I exercise every day. I am a part of my family’s life every day. We feel that we have completely conquered cancer, and it has been an almost impossible mission,” she said. .
“People always ask me how I cured cancer, and I say, ‘God led me to Dr. Williams.'”
“I can’t even imagine what would have happened if I had continued with conventional treatment and just tried to stop the progression,” Willits said. (Tina Willits)
Williams believes immunotherapy is the future of cancer treatment.
“First we need to directly target the tumor and inject the immunotherapy,” he said.
“From now on, patients will be diagnosed with a suspicious lesion and will begin treatment with an immunotherapy injection at the time of the initial biopsy.”
balance risk and benefit
Immunotherapy shows promise as an alternative treatment, but it comes with its own risks and limitations for certain patient groups.
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“Patients with autoimmune diseases are at increased risk because their immune systems also attack normal tissue,” Williams warned.
“The risks are higher, but we have the technology to overcome this, so the benefits outweigh the risks.”
“As oncologists, we don’t want to give patients drugs that have no clinical benefit and may increase the risk of side effects.”
Brian Slomowitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Florida, said that while immunotherapy has changed the way many cancers are treated, it is not always effective. He pointed out that there was no such thing.
“It’s important to understand that it doesn’t work for all patients,” said Slomowitz, who was not involved in Willits’ treatment.
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“As oncologists, we don’t want to give patients drugs that have no clinical benefit and may increase the risk of side effects.”
However, Slomowitz believes that in “appropriately selected” patients, immunotherapy can extend both the time to cancer recurrence and overall survival.
Willits is currently in stable and healthy condition. “I exercise every day,” she told FOX News Digital. (Tina Willits)
“I look forward to watching the field of tumor immunology continue to evolve.”
Willits now aims to raise awareness that this treatment is available, as many women think chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are their only options.
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“The reality is that some women don’t even know it exists,” she says. “And we don’t even know how many hundreds of women we could potentially save if we could just get the word out.”
She also said, “I can’t even imagine if I had continued with traditional treatments and just tried to stop the progression. I mean, it got out of my body. It went away. Life started again. We’re back to normal, and I’m very grateful.” . ”
“We don’t even know how many hundreds of women we could potentially save if we could just get the word out,” Willits said. (Tina Willits)
Although Willits’ prognosis is “extremely good,” Williams said: “We have to remain vigilant and continue to monitor…People who have had cancer before are definitely suffering from another cancer.” “The risk of recurrence is higher than normal.”
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For patients just beginning their cancer journey, Williams says it’s important to take the time to thoroughly research your options.
“The large number of off-label drugs and supplements available can help improve treatment outcomes, and the exploration of immunotherapy should always be a priority,” he added.
