Shauna Whisenton thought she’d live with sickle cell disease for the rest of her life — until one clinical trial changed everything.
Shauna Whisenton was once an individual living with sickle cell disease (SCD). Now she’s an advocate for better therapies, a cure and better understanding of SCD.
Whisenton, now 41, was born with SCD, a painful, inherited disorder where red blood cells are misshaped, restricting blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.
“It was all going pretty well until I had my third son,” she says. “Then my health started to take a turn for the worse.”
While nursing, she was admitted to the hospital every few weeks and, despite best efforts, was not replenishing enough fluids for her body to function properly and had major organ complications.
Her doctor asked her to consider a bone marrow transplant clinical trial to cure SCD.
Whisenton didn’t believe she could be cured and some members of her family were unsure if she should undergo the treatment. For many in the minority community, there is a fear that medical testing may exploit patients instead of helping them. However, clinical trial oversights ensure safety during participation.
After consulting an SCD patient advocate, she realized, “Although a cure is not guaranteed, this could be an amazing opportunity. If that is not possible for me, researchers could learn something from my participation to save others.”
Finding a donor
The best chance for a donor match would be a family member. Whisenton lost her parents when she was a child and her sister wasn’t a match; but her 9-year-old son, Dorian, was a 50 percent match.
A successful transplant meant a better life for Whisenton and her family.
“I felt like my children had suffered enough watching my pain,” she says.
Whisenton’s son had marrow extracted from his pelvis bone. It was a one-day procedure for him but the start of a two-year ordeal for his mother.
Journey
Whisenton’s journey was tough. She was hospitalized, received anti-rejection medications, and had to undergo chemotherapy. She persevered with support from family and her medical team. For Whisenton, treatment beyond the transplant was an important part of procedure preparation and recovery. This included coordinated care to provide relief from the symptoms of her disease and the transplant, including pain and detoxing from opiates, but also the physical and mental stress from the procedure.
“It’s important to equip someone who’s received a curative therapy with tools to rebuild their lives during and after recovery,” she says.
Within nine months of receiving the bone marrow transplant, Whisenton was SCD free and now only carries the trait.
Whisenton calls the date of her transplant her birthday.
Patient advocate
Whisenton has made it her life’s work to help those living with SCD. She’s the manager of sickle cell disease community engagement for the ASH Research Collaborative (ASH RC) Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials Network (CTN), established by the American Society of Hematology, the world’s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatments of blood disorders.
Whisenton is carrying out the mission of the ASH RC CTN to improve the lives of individuals with SCD by expediting the development of new therapies through innovative clinical trial research. Whisenton ensures that the voice of the patient is heard at all stages of these clinical trials.
“SCD warriors, don’t lose hope. There are many treatments in the pipeline to help those living with this disease have a better quality of life. Our hope is that advances in research will bring more effective treatments to individuals living with SCD.”
