EXCLUSIVE: Clovis woman responds well to revolutionary cancer therapy

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Clovis woman is making history in Central California and moving forward.

"I'm really looking forward to that, to having my life back," said Christine Quintero.

Actio News first met Christine Quintero in late May, as she sat in a hospital bed, waiting to receive a potential cure for her Large B Cell Lymphoma.

We had a front row seat as she was the first patient to receive a life-changing immunotherapy at the Community Cancer Institute at Clovis Community.

RELATED: A revolutionary cancer therapy is coming to Central California

As we met up again more than a month later, she walked in with new energy and a major update.

"I'm here now being cancer-free and in remission," said Christine. "I'm feeling a lot better, like I'm getting my strength back. Of course, you know I'm still not 100% with my body and I don't know how long its going to take, you know? But I'm able to get up, I'm able to do chores again, you know? I'm able to do a lot more than I was before."

For more than a year and a half, Christine battled her cancer using chemo and radiation.

Then came CAR T-Cell therapy, an infusion of Christine's own white blood cells altered to fight the cancer cells better.

Previously, people had to seek out hospitals in other cities for CAR T and stay away from home for at least 30 days.

Christine remained in her hometown and was actually discharged early, giving her the chance to celebrate milestones with family.

"I was supposed to stay in there 15 days, but I ended up coming out on the 4th. It was my daughter's birthday and I wanted to be home with her," said Christine.

Because of her willingness to go first, the hard work of her care team, and the success, future patients will get to do the same.

"I literally cannot describe how excited I am for our patients," UCSF Director of Hematology Dr. Haifaa Abdulhaq said. "I think what we are doing as a team here is huge. It literally takes a village to build a CAR T program and we were able to do it and this is just the start."

Christine will need follow-up blood work and scans over the next year.

But for now, it's the things we often take for granted that she's looking forward to the most.

"And I'm looking forward to going back to work on August 1st," said Christine. "Yeah I'm going back to work... It takes a lot, not to have a life of working and being a cancer patient, it's depressing sometimes, but through my friends and family, and praying all the time, I was able to do it."

The bell rings a welcome to her next chapter.

On Friday, Dr. Abdulhaq met with a second patient to hopefully get them started on CAR T-cell therapy.

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