My progress journey: This is me giving back
Meet Darren
In 2016, Darren Bessette of Ottawa, Ontario, began experiencing abdominal pain. After seeing his doctor, a large mass in his colon was discovered. After further medical appointments and tests, he was diagnosed with stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a cancer of the lymph nodes and the lymphatic system. Darren soon learned that DLBCL is the most common, aggressive, and fast-growing form of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), affecting approximately 20,000 people in Canada. Though armed with hope, Darren couldn't shake the knowledge that DLBCL was a relentless opponent. The high rate of relapse within the first two years—affecting 50 to 60 per cent of patients —underscored the magnitude of the battle he would soon face.
The first battle: Facing lymphoma
Darren, a busy father of three teenage daughters, juggled a full schedule of work, hockey games, and band practice. His diagnosis came as a shock to everyone who knew him. DLBCL symptoms can include swollen lymph nodes, fever, weight loss and more. But even as DLBCL manifested in his body, Darren refused to let it conquer his spirit. He clung fiercely to the belief that he would overcome this and emerge stronger on the other side.
Darren’s oncologist indicated chemotherapy as the best treatment, and Darren, with his wife Mary Ann by his side, began an almost year-long treatment regime. The outpour of support from his community lifted his spirits and each check-in began to feel like a beacon of hope. Although, as the days and months went on, the “how are you’s” started to become few and far in between. Fortunately, by 2017, Darren’s battle ended, and his cancer was in remission. As he was easing back into the rhythm of his daily life, he carried with him the profound understanding of the power of human connection and vowed to become a source of support for others facing similar battles.
Darren Bessette ringing the bell on his last chemo treatment.
Two years later: A new battle
When Darren found himself staring down the same type of lymphoma for a second time in 2019, his oncologist proposed a new and different treatment – chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, commonly known as CAR-T. The treatment, used for blood cancer patients, adds a lab-made gene to the patient’s own cancer-fighting T cells, which helps the patient’s cells detect and kill the cancer. It is typically used when other treatments are ineffective, or when a cancer returns.
Darren’s oncologist was familiar with the therapy and knew of a clinical trial that might benefit him. “It was a no-brainer for me,” says Darren. “My oncologist said the success rate for other treatments, like chemotherapy, was likely 20% to 30%, but CAR-T was closer to 40%. For me, that’s a significant difference.”
Darren’s wife, Mary Ann, was also undeterred. Though information about the therapy was hard to come by at the time, and despite weeks of long drives to Toronto for evaluation to enter the clinical trial, Mary Ann shared Darren’s optimism. From finding a place to stay in an expensive city to enrolling in the clinical trial and leaving behind their three teenage daughters for the duration of the treatment, the couple remained grateful for the option and a supportive network of friends and family.
“We had no doubts. We both share the same mentality, that it was worth trying. We both believe that progress takes people like us, who are willing to take a risk with the unknown and participate in studies. We hoped it would help people in the future too.”
For patients who are going through their cancer journeys, from the various therapies, the travelling to and from treatment centers, waiting for results, and the recovery, Darren suggests setting goals, marking milestones along the way, and “constantly striving to achieve them.”
Road to recovery: It takes a village
In terms of recovery, Darren suggests giving yourself patience, and to remember that recovery is a marathon rather than a sprint.
As a caregiver and spouse, Mary Ann offers this advice to others who are embarking on the same journey, “It’s often hard to ask for help and sometimes hard to accept the help when given, however, in a journey like this, you need to take all the support that you can. We have a wonderful group of friends who rallied around us and did things like bringing us meals on rough days. Accept the help, because it truly does take a village.”
Giving back to lymphoma patients
Today, Darren is part of a peer support program through Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC), offering information and first-hand experience for blood cancer patients. He has raised over $70,000 for LLSC with his annual fundraiser, a comedy night called Laughter 4 Cancer. He has also documented his journey in the form of a blog which served as a way for him to not only to update friends and family on his condition but also serve as a resource to help other patients facing a cancer diagnosis.
Darren's words resonated across borders, uniting a global community of readers from the US and UK to Germany, Canada, Australia, and beyond. Their words of encouragement became his strength, bolstering his morale and fueling his drive to keep sharing his journey.