In 2012 when Emily Whitehead was battling leukemia, her recovery was far from certain had it not been for a new therapy developed at the University of Pennsylvania, writes Sarah Gantz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Thanks to innovation from Penn, Whitehead became the first child cured of the disease using an experimental therapy. Fast forward to 2023, and she returns to Penn, now as a college freshman.

It was a long journey getting to this point.

Whitehead was 5 years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

After relapsing twice during chemotherapy treatment, her parents brought her to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which had just been approved to begin a pediatric clinical trial for an experimental treatment against cancer. 

The chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy — CAR-T, which was first introduced at Penn — proved to be the difference for Whitehead’s cancer.

She became the first pediatric patient, and after enduring severe side effects, further medication and a medically induced coma, the leukemia was gone. 

Her recovery has since happened for many other pediatric cancer survivors, but she remains the first. 

However, her story is much more than that as she strives for normalcy.

“It’s a privilege. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. It actually is both,” said Whitehead. 

Learn more about Emily Whitehead’s story at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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