Climber Reaches New Heights with Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment

4 min read


Climber Reaches New Heights with Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment

Doug Duquette was sitting in his car at a stoplight when he reached up absentmindedly and touched his neck. It was then he noticed two large lumps, one on either side of his throat. The discovery sent him on a journey to fight chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)—a type of blood and bone marrow cancer. Little did he know that one day this fight would help pave the way for new treatment options for patients everywhere.

A Growing Problem

Everyone is at risk for cancer. But it was the last thing on Doug’s mind when he found the suspicious lumps. The retired dentist was a healthy, active 58-year-old who led Colorado hikes for thousands of people through a social adventure group. He didn’t want disease to hold him back. After a biopsy confirmed Doug’s CLL diagnosis, he discussed treatment options with Robert Jotte, MD, PhD, medical oncologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

“CLL occurs when the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. These abnormal cells do not die off as healthy cells do and instead multiply and pool in the body,” explained Dr. Jotte. “Thankfully, CLL progresses slowly and patients can live with the disease for a long time. As a result, Doug opted for ‘watchful waiting,’ or close monitoring of the disease, before taking the next step with chemotherapy.”

doug duquette enlarged lymph nodesFor the next two years, Doug felt fine. However, the abnormal cells slowly continued to accumulate, further enlarging Doug’s lymph nodes and causing other problems.

“I eventually looked like the elephant man—my lymph nodes had grown so large. Swallowing food became difficult and people started to stare,” said Doug. “Although I disliked IV needles and wanted to postpone chemotherapy as long as possible, I agreed with Dr. Jotte that it was time for treatment.”

The Value of Trusted Care

Douglas underwent chemotherapy with Dr. Jotte at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers’ Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree. The treatment successfully propelled Doug’s CLL into remission for the next six years. However, as is common with CLL, his disease eventually relapsed. At the time, Doug was living in Michigan but moved back to Colorado to be cared for by Dr. Jotte once again.

“CLL is not like a heart attack in which there is precious little time to act. Because the disease moves so slowly, I had time to do my research and thoughtfully choose my provider,” explained Doug. “Dr. Jotte is the best of the best. He’s a big deal but is also extremely down to earth. I trust him completely and wouldn’t be treated by anyone else.”

Doug underwent a second round of chemotherapy, which sent him into remission for another year. But when the CLL returned more aggressively and other conventional treatment options no longer worked, Dr. Jotte recommended that Doug join a global clinical trial through Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers for ABBV-101—a new, cutting-edge drug for patients with relapsing CLL.

“There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to CLL treatment. Throughout a patient’s life, we use different treatment options at different times,” said Dr. Jotte. “ABBV-101 has a completely novel mechanism of action, offering patients like Doug a new way of fighting the disease. It’s very exciting.”

First in the World

ABBV-101 works differently than other drugs for CLL and other non-Hodgkin lymphomas by degrading or destroying the protein responsible for overgrowth of lymphocytes instead of merely binding or inhibiting it, reducing the chance of relapse. Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, in partnership with Sara Cannon Research Institute, is able to bring this promising new therapy to local communities by serving as a clinical trial research site.

chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patient doug duquette hiking in Colorado“Clinical trials offer an amazing advantage to patients, allowing access to another level of care before these therapies are available to the general population,” explained Dr. Jotte. “The way we conduct this research has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Patients no longer have to travel out-of-state or to large academic centers to participate. Now, they can access clinical studies close to home through local medical clinics.”

Doug started the new therapy, which involved taking a few tiny pills each day, as a trial participant in June 2023. He was the first person in the world to do so.

“From the very first day I had absolutely no side effects and felt like a million bucks,” said Doug. “It’s like a miracle.”

Climbing High

Although Doug was the first to take this revolutionary drug, there are about twenty other patients involved in the clinical trial today. And with its success, more will follow.

As part of the study, Doug is closely evaluated by Dr. Jotte every month. His disease is in complete remission and he feels better than ever before. While Doug gave up hiking for years due to fatigue and digestive symptoms caused by other CLL treatments, he is confidently back on the trails. In fact, Doug, now age 71, recently led a rescue mission for a hiker who was stranded at an elevation of 11,500 feet—a testament to his stamina.

“I’m so fortunate that this trial was an option for me. I can now think about other people instead of my disease,” said Doug. “I couldn’t ask for more.”