A Patient’s Voice in the Future of Medicine
Twelve Years. Seven Treatments. One Breakthrough.
THE BIG C MEETS CAR T, Laurie’s memoir about her twelve-year journey through cancer treatment, multiple clinical trials, and the emerging science of CAR-T therapy, explores how patients can become informed partners in their own care. Through her lived experience and persistent self-advocacy, her book offers readers unparalleled insight into navigating the complexities of the healthcare system and finding pathways to treatment, information, and hope.
Laurie Adami spent twelve years living with stage IV follicular lymphoma - navigating relapse after relapse, enrolling in clinical trials, and learning how to move through one of the most complex healthcare systems in the world.
She saw four oncologists across four cancer centers. She underwent seven lines of therapy. Finally, in 2018, a CAR-T cell therapy clinical trial at UCLA finally eliminated her cancer entirely.
That journey is not just a survival story. It is a detailed, firsthand account of what patients and families actually face - medically, emotionally, and logistically - when living with serious illness over the long term. Laurie brings that perspective to speaking engagements, panels, and advisory work with healthcare leaders, researchers, and organizations working to put the patient voice at the center of medical innovation.
Laurie’s memoir is equal parts personal narrative and a patient's hard-won understanding of the US healthcare system, the book traces her twelve-year path through treatment, clinical research, and the emerging science of cell and gene therapy.
