After not responding to three rounds of chemotherapy, it was thought Beverly only had a few days left to live. But thanks to a groundbreaking clinical trial at VGH, she was given a second chance at life. She knows her fight is far from over, but is keen to share her story.

Beverly arrived at VGH’s Leukemia Bone Marrow Transplant Unit with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare cancer that was progressing aggressively all over her body. On March 13, 2025, she enrolled in a new clinical trial and became the first patient in BC to receive a novel drug to treat her specific leukemia subtype.

Less than a month later, on the very day this video was filmed, she was discharged from the hospital. Today, she’s back home, happy, and seeing major improvements in her body.

“My last week at home, my mom didn’t see me because I was upstairs in bed, there was nothing left in me,” Beverly said. “When I came down and I got that phone call to come to VGH, and my mom saw me, there was horror in her face just to see how much I’d deteriorated in a week’s time. I didn’t expect that this drug would give me back six weeks of time that I didn’t really have. There was a good chance I was going to come in here and it was too late. But here I am.”

Beverly’s message to anyone who may find themselves in the same situation she did:

“Don’t give up hope that someone is going to walk through the door today and you might get the same chance that I have.”

VGH is uniquely positioned to play a prominent role in conducting innovative clinical trials thanks to their access to patients from across the province and a unique concentration of experts who have the know-how to deliver them.

With your support, we are Greater Than Cancer. Learn more about how you can help build lasting infrastructure to conduct clinical trials and give patients in BC access to new life saving treatments: vghfoundation.ca/GreaterThanCancer.

UPDATE: We are deeply saddened to share that Beverly has passed away. Before her passing, Beverly expressed how grateful she was to have shared her story, hoping it would offer strength and hope to others on similar journeys. She said she was extremely thankful for the extra time with friends and family that her treatment afforded her. May she rest in peace.