Teletrial program allowed Vesselin Petkov to take part in an ALLG clinical trial without being separated from his family

An Australian Teletrial Program (ATP) is working to improve access to clinical trials for people living in rural and regional parts of the country. Vesselin Petkov from Cairns [pictured with his daughter], was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma two years ago, Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). He was one of the first patients to take part in a clinical trial facilitated through the ATP in Cairns. That trial was the ALLG NHL33 WAMM.

This unique ALLG trial is aimed at helping MCL patients, like Vesselin, to get the right immunotherapy treatment for their lymphoma at the right time and arming patients with the best chance to fight this disease. The Teletrial Program allowed Vesselin to take part in the clinical trial without being separated from his family.

Vesselin said:

I chose to enrol in the [NHL33 WAMM] clinical trial because the conventional treatment that was offered to me was 15 years old and while it offered me a chance of remission, it was quite toxic and all follow up studies showed all patients sooner or later would relapse.”

“I was looking for an alternative that would achieve a better result with less overall toxicity. The decision was not taken lightly as my type of lymphoma is well known to be difficult to treat and opting for a new combination of drugs had an inherent risk of failure.”

“My experience with the trial was very positive. So far I’m in full remission, and I feel really good, and I’m back to work. I feel 100 per cent.”

The Teletrial Program will deliver specialised health care to thousands of regional and remote Australians.

Vesselin featured in ALLG’s 2022 Christmas appeal. You join the team to help find a cure for blood cancer and help our dedicated ALLG researchers to tackle the biggest challenges of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. You can make a donation to support our work helping patients like Vesselin this Christmas. 100% of your donation goes directly into our clinical trial research program. https://www.allg.org.au/support-us/make-a-donation/