Less than three years ago, Tina Willits, now 53, thought she had just two years to live.
Today, she is 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 normal mammogram.
In March 2022, she discovered that she had HER2-positive breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease in which the cancer cells have an abnormally high level of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).
“I still remember the doctor coming in and telling us that it was in my lymph nodes, ribs, spine, sternum, and bones,” Willits told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview.
Willits was told that she had golf ball-sized tumors and that the disease was too advanced for a mastectomy.
She was placed on end-of-care chemotherapy and told to “enjoy the time you have left.”
“The doctor told me, ‘We will try to stop the progression,’ but she said ‘the best we can probably offer you is about 24 months.’”
‘I wanted it gone’
Willits wasn’t satisfied with just stopping the progression of her cancer.
“I have five biological children and I was raising two of my bonus babies, and I had four grandkids at the time,” she said. “And I was just determined that I wanted it gone. That was my goal. And I remember my oncologist telling me that was never going to happen.”
After doing some of 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 and surgery — but some experts are calling immunotherapy the “fourth pillar” of cancer treatments.
In her research, she came across Dr. Jason R. Williams of The Williams Cancer Institute in California, who offers a new cancer therapy that uses cold gases and the body’s own cells to freeze and fight tumors.
“Immunotherapy teaches the immune system to attack the cancer,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “So, like a vaccine, it can give you a long-term, durable response. This is what is needed to achieve cures.”
Willits and her husband reached out to the doctor, who immediately began looking into her case.
“She physically was in good condition, even though her cancer was advanced,” Williams said about Willits. “She was on chemo, but still remained in very good health, even though she was advanced and metastatic.”
He added, “I was confident but cautious. Cancer is a very challenging foe.”
Williams offered Willits something she hadn’t had until then: hope.
“He was just unbelievable. After seeing all of my tests, he said, ‘I can cure you,’” she told Fox News Digital. “And you don’t get those words as a stage 4 patient.”
Six weeks after receiving a course of immunotherapy treatments — in conjunction with supplements to ramp up the immune system and cryoablation, a procedure that uses freezing temperatures to destroy cancer cells — a PET scan revealed that Willits’ cancer was gone.
Today, Willits said, she is stable and healthy.
“I exercise every day. I’m a part of my family’s life every day. Cancer, we feel, is completely behind us — and that was almost an impossible mission,” she said.
“People ask me all the time, you know, how did you cure your cancer? And I say, ‘Well, God led me to Dr. Williams.’”
Williams believes that immunotherapy is the future of cancer treatments.
“We first must target the tumor directly, injecting immunotherapy into it,” he said.
“In the future, the patient will be diagnosed with a suspicious lesion, and at the time of initial biopsy, we will begin treating it by injecting immunotherapy.”
Balancing risks and benefits
While immunotherapy has shown promise as an alternate treatment, it does come with its own risks and limitations for certain groups of patients.
“Patients with autoimmune diseases have a higher risk, because the immune system is more primed to also attack normal tissues,” Williams cautioned.
“Though risks are higher, we do have techniques to overcome this, and so the benefits outweigh the risks.”
Brian Slomovitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Florida, noted that immunotherapy had transformed the way many cancers are treated, but that it’s not always effective.
“It is important to understand that it is not useful in all patients,” said Slomovitz, who was not involved in Willits’ care.
“As oncologists, we don’t want to expose a patient to a medication that can increase the risk of side effects without a clinical benefit.”
In “properly selected” patients, however, Slomovitz believes immunotherapy can prolong both the time to cancer recurrence and overall survival rates.
“I’m excited to watch as the field of immuno-oncology continues to evolve.”
Willits now aims to raise awareness of the availability of this treatment, as many women assume that chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are their only options.
“The reality is there are women out there who don’t know it exists,” she said. “And if we can get the word out, I can’t even tell you how many hundreds of women we could potentially save.”
She also said, “I cannot even imagine if I had stayed the course of traditional treatment and just tried to stop the progression. I mean, it’s out of my body. It’s gone. Life is back to normal again. And I am so grateful.”
While Willits’ prognosis is “excellent,” Williams emphasized that “we must always be cautious and continue to monitor … Any person who has had cancer before certainly has a higher than normal risk for another cancer or a recurrence.”
For patients just starting their cancer journey, Williams says it’s critical to take the time to research the options thoroughly.
“Numerous off-label medications and supplements that are available can help enhance treatment outcomes, and exploring immunotherapy should always be a priority,” he added.
