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From Home Furnishing Business

"Miracle Mike" Shares Stem Cell Journey with City of Hope

Michael Burton, a seasoned veteran of the home furnishings industry and vice president of sales for Uniters North America, has spent decades building a career defined by perseverance and dedication. Yet, it wasn’t until he faced the most formidable challenge of his life — a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — that he truly discovered the depths of his resilience.

Known to friends and colleagues as "Miracle Mike," Burton’s journey is one of hope, determination, and the cutting-edge clinical trial of auto stem cell transplant followed by CAR T-cell transplant two days later, a breakthrough treatment that has redefined his story.

A Health Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight

Before his diagnosis, Burton’s life was an active one. Even during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, he continued to walk five miles daily and balance a demanding career from home. But by October 2021, something felt off. What began as a persistent pain on his right side led to months of medical consultations and inconclusive diagnoses. It wasn’t until early 2022, after escalating pain and a series of scans, that doctors identified the real issue: aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Burton’s condition rapidly worsened. By March 2022, he was gravely ill, in the emergency room with severe vomiting for 24 hours. Two months later, he was back in the ER after heavy internal bleeding following chemotherapy. Doctors advised him to get his affairs in order. But Burton, a fighter at heart, wasn’t ready to give up.

The Turning Point

Initial rounds of chemotherapy and radiation for 10 months provided some relief but weren’t enough to stop the cancer’s advance. During a brief period of remission, a mass appeared on his neck in late 2022, and further complications led Burton to seek care at University of California, Irvine in January 2023.

After grueling sessions of chemotherapy for three months, he was declared in remission and considered a candidate for a stem cell transplant. However, insurance hurdles delayed the procedure, and a new mass of unknown origin developed in his left lung.

Burton turned to City of Hope, a world-renowned cancer treatment and research center with which he already had a deep personal connection. Early in his career at Parkview Furniture, Burton’s family had supported City of Hope’s fundraising initiatives, and his father-in-law, Larry Brooks, had been honored by the International Home Furnishings Industry group and City of Hope. Burton’s younger brother had lost his battle to leukemia, leaving a lasting impression on his family’s commitment to advancing cancer research.

A Bold Decision: The World’s First, Back-to-Back Transplants

At City of Hope in Duarte, California, Burton met with Drs. Matthew Mei, Avyakta Kallam, and John Baird, who presented a groundbreaking opportunity -- a trial never performed before: back-to-back stem cell transplant with a time-advanced introduction of CAR T-cell therapy. This revolutionary treatment involves harvesting a patient’s T cells and dividing them into two groups. 

The first group is used for “auto” (own cells) stem cell transplant. The second group, the CAR T cells, is genetically modified in a lab to better target cancerous cells. Patients undergo chemotherapy between the cell harvesting and reinfusion phases to give the bone marrow a clean slate so when the stem cells are reintroduced into the body, they rebuild with disease-free bone marrow cells and hunt cancer. The CAR-T cells are a more aggressive cancer hunter. Typically, there are months between the introduction of these two treatments. But Burton’s case was unique — the entire procedure, including reinfusion, was completed within just two days of the stem cell transplants, a first for this clinical trial.

For Burton, the decision was clear. Despite his wife’s initial hesitation about participating in this risky trial, he viewed it as a chance to fight back and contribute to a greater cause. Without treatment “I had a death sentence,” Burton recalled. “To me, I was going to throw everything at it and fight. I figured if I could help somebody, regardless of my outcome, great.”

In the first six days of August 2023, Burton went through an intense round of chemotherapy for that clean slate. On August 7, his stem cells, harvested back in June, were infused/transplanted. Two days later, August 9, the CAR T cells were infused/transplanted. The next three weeks were spent in the hospital under close observation. Nearly 18 months later, Burton remains in remission. 

Full Circle: A Legacy of Hope

Earlier this year, Burton attended a reunion at City of Hope, where he met the first infant to undergo a stem cell transplant. The child, now a thriving adult, was a poignant reminder of the progress made in cancer treatment and the lives saved through groundbreaking research.

Reflecting on his journey, Burton holds no bitterness about the initial misdiagnoses that delayed his treatment. “I feel like it happened for a reason,” he said. “It put me on the path to City of Hope. It is simply indescribable how they take care of you. The people there are God’s angels.”

Burton’s story is more than one of survival; it’s a testament to the power of innovation, community, and the human spirit. His decision to undergo this world’s first and only back-to-back stem cell transplants then CAR T-cell therapy not only saved his life but also contributed valuable data to a treatment that could one day cure others. 

“There’s a bigger meaning for this,” Burton said. “The hope is we live another day to find a cure tomorrow.”

Michael Burton’s unwavering determination and willingness to embrace the unknown embody the mission of City of Hope. His journey, filled with challenges and triumphs, stands as a beacon of inspiration for anyone confronting the unthinkable.



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