After CAR-T Therapy, I Got My Quality of Life Back

Summary: Ms. Zhang, 55, was diagnosed with IgD-λ multiple myeloma after developing lower-back discomfort and widespread bone pain. After several courses of treatment, she achieved only a partial response. In 2023, she came to GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital for further treatment and underwent an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, achieving complete remission for a period of time. Two years after the transplant, follow-up tests showed signs that the disease might be returning. By then, she had reached fourth-line treatment and was struggling to tolerate long-term drug therapy. After a comprehensive assessment, Dr. Su Li’s team recommended CAR-T cell therapy with FUCASO® (equecabtagene autoleucel). More than six months after CAR-T therapy, she achieved MRD-negative complete remission. As her physical and emotional well-being improved, she returned to painting, embroidery, travel, and other things she loves. Her story traces the journey of a patient with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma from chemotherapy and autologous transplantation to CAR-T therapy—and shows why quality of life matters just as much as the goal of living longer.

In July 2025, nearly two years after her autologous transplant, Ms. Zhang (pseudonym) had been keeping up with regular follow-up visits when tests began to show signs that her multiple myeloma might be returning. The shadow of repeated chemotherapy—something she had hoped was finally behind her—seemed to be closing in again. “I don’t want to go through chemotherapy anymore,” she said. “I want to live well, not just stay alive.”

With the goals of long-term disease control and a better quality of life, the medical team at GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital carried out a comprehensive assessment. After detailed discussions with Ms. Zhang and her family, the team proceeded with CAR-T cell therapy using FUCASO® (equecabtagene autoleucel) in September 2025. More than six months later, her multiple myeloma is in complete remission.

Ms. Zhang teaching her students in the classroom in 2021

Now 55, Ms. Zhang spent more than 30 years as a devoted schoolteacher. In the second half of 2022, as a new school year approached, she was preparing for her classes just as she always had. Then a nagging ache appeared in her lower back and gradually developed into bone pain throughout her body. At first, she did not think much of it. But one evening after work, she suddenly became very unwell and vomited through the night. Further tests at the hospital eventually led to a diagnosis of IgD-λ multiple myeloma.

“At the time, I was worried about my students. I was afraid my absence would disrupt their learning,” Ms. Zhang recalled, still emotional when speaking about her diagnosis. She never imagined that once she stepped away from the classroom she loved, she would not be able to return.

After that, whenever she passed by the school and saw the familiar playground, she would often tear up, missing the life she had left behind.

Treatment turned out to be far more difficult than she had expected. After several courses of standard chemotherapy, she achieved only a partial response (PR). In February 2023, Ms. Zhang came to GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital for further treatment and underwent an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant that June. She then moved into maintenance treatment, and for a while everything seemed to be improving. But two years later, her IgD level began to rise again during follow-up, suggesting that the myeloma might be returning.

Ms. Zhang had relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, with several episodes of disease progression in less than three years. By this point, she had reached fourth-line treatment, and CAR-T cell therapy offered a new option. GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital is also a designated CAR-T treatment center under Shanghai Hu Hui Bao, a supplemental health insurance program, which substantially reduced the financial burden of treatment for her family.

She had been through chemotherapy, an autologous transplant, and then CAR-T therapy. Along the way, she endured the physical toll of repeated disease progression and fell into a deep depression during especially difficult periods of chemotherapy. Step by step, she worked through both the physical and emotional challenges. Today, she has returned to a quieter, fuller life shaped by painting, embroidery, travel, and the things that bring her joy—and her smile has returned with it.

Ms. Zhang says she is sharing her experience in the hope that her treatment journey can be a source of light for other people with blood disorders who may still be going through their darkest days.

For anyone living through illness right now, we hope her story offers a little more hope and courage—and reminds you that it is possible to find your way back to the life, places, and moments that matter to you.

Ms. Zhang with Dr. Su Li in April 2026

Q1: What symptoms did you first notice in 2022, and how were you eventually diagnosed with multiple myeloma?

A: It started when I hurt my lower back while doing yoga. I thought it was just a muscle strain, so I tried massage therapy, but it never got better. Not long after that, I started having bone pain all over my body. Then one day after work, I couldn’t eat and spent the entire night vomiting. The next day, I went to an internal medicine clinic. My blood tests were abnormal—both my calcium and creatinine were significantly elevated.

A doctor I knew looked at the results and called me that evening because he was concerned. He explained that the combination of these findings fit the “CRAB” features commonly associated with myeloma and urged me to see a hematologist as soon as possible.

I then had a bone marrow aspiration in the hematology department, which confirmed multiple myeloma. I burst into tears. I thought having a blood cancer meant I was going to die. I even asked my husband to take me to hospice. I had completely lost hope.

Later, a hematologist sat down with me and explained very patiently that although multiple myeloma is not currently considered curable, standardized treatment can help people live longer.

So I began chemotherapy. But that was only the beginning. The road ahead was much harder than I had imagined.

Q2: What brought you to GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital, and why did you choose to have an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant there?

A: After several courses of standard treatment for myeloma, I had achieved only a partial response. At the same time, chemotherapy was extremely hard on me. I needed an injection every week, and by the next day I would feel terrible. Going through the same cycle week after week wore me down physically and emotionally.

That was when I came to GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital to look for another option. As part of the treatment plan, I went on to have an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Before I became ill, I was a teacher and I loved my job. If this disease had not appeared so suddenly, I would have stayed in the classroom until retirement. Even after I started chemotherapy, I still imagined that one day I might go back to teaching. But weekly treatment and constant hospital visits slowly made that hope feel less realistic. Spending all day at home, I often felt useless, as though I no longer had a place or purpose.

What made things even harder was that my M-protein level was still high before the autologous transplant, so I had to continue taking chemotherapy drugs to bring it down. Emotionally, I was at my limit.

I don’t know how much of it was related to the medication, but I couldn’t sleep, I was extremely anxious, and there were times when I wanted to stop treatment altogether because death felt like an escape.

Ms. Zhang receiving further treatment at GoBroad Shanghai Liquan Hospital in February 2023

On my doctor’s advice, I went to the neurology department at another hospital and started medication to help with my anxiety and sleep. During that time, my family stayed close and encouraged me every day. My doctors also checked in often and helped me keep going. Before every dose of chemotherapy, I had to talk myself through it. No matter how difficult it felt, I forced myself to take the medication. Eventually, my M-protein level came under control.

Next, I received targeted therapy to reduce the remaining myeloma cells further and prepare for the autologous transplant.

I was very afraid of entering the transplant isolation unit, but once I was actually there, it was not as frightening as I had imagined. The nurses and care staff were very professional and often chatted with me. Dr. Su Li also came in every day to see how I was doing. I spent more than 20 days in the unit, and eventually I was able to leave it successfully.

The transplant worked well, and I achieved complete remission.

During follow-up, Dr. Su Li recommended consolidation treatment every two months. As I became stronger, the interval between visits gradually became longer and my emotional state also improved. I slowly tapered off the medication I had been taking for my mental health symptoms, and little by little, life began to feel normal again.

Q3: After the transplant, things seemed to be settling down—until your IgD level started rising again during maintenance treatment. How did you learn about CAR-T therapy, and what ultimately led you to choose it?

A: Things had been improving, and I was approaching the two-year mark after my transplant when one follow-up test showed that my IgD level had started to rise. That suggested the disease might be coming back.

I had learned that IgD multiple myeloma tends to relapse more easily. I also did a lot of reading on my own and understood that myeloma cannot yet be completely cured. One reason I had chosen an autologous transplant was to reduce how often I needed chemotherapy and improve my quality of life. I simply did not want to spend the rest of my life going through chemotherapy. It was too hard for me.

Given my situation, Dr. Su Li recommended CAR-T therapy for myeloma. He told me that approved CAR-T therapies were already well established in clinical practice in China and that Liquan Hospital had treated many patients with commercial CAR-T products and seen good outcomes.

At first, I was very hesitant. I searched online and found so many different opinions that I didn’t know what to believe. Then one day, another patient with myeloma told me he had undergone CAR-T therapy and had responded very well. I asked him, “Did you still need chemotherapy afterward?” He said no. Seeing him living just like anyone else—and knowing he no longer needed chemotherapy—finally helped me make up my mind.

Another important factor was that Shanghai Liquan Hospital is a designated CAR-T treatment center under Shanghai Hu Hui Bao. Commercial CAR-T therapy is expensive, but I met the coverage criteria for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma whose disease had progressed after three prior lines of therapy. The insurance coverage reduced a substantial portion of our out-of-pocket cost and greatly eased the financial pressure on my family.

Q4: Many patients worry about side effects from CAR-T therapy, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Did you experience fever, fatigue, or other reactions after the CAR-T cell infusion?

A: For me personally, CAR-T therapy was much easier to tolerate than the autologous transplant. To begin with, I didn’t have to stay in a transplant isolation unit. I only needed a bedside laminar-airflow canopy, which already made the experience feel much less stressful.

For the first few days, I received lymphodepleting chemotherapy, and that part was uncomfortable. But after the CAR-T cells were infused, I felt much better. I wasn’t vomiting much, and I didn’t lose my hair—the way I had during the autologous transplant, when I had to shave my head. I stayed under the laminar-airflow canopy for about 20 days. My highest fever was around 38°C and it resolved within two or three days. The main issue was a poor appetite. Compared with the autologous transplant, when I was vomiting constantly and my fever reached 39°C, this experience was much easier for me.

Of course, everyone responds differently, but in my own case, the overall discomfort was much less.

Q5: It has been more than six months since your CAR-T therapy. How has your recovery been in terms of energy, appetite, and sleep? What feels most different compared with the time when you were ill?

A: CAR-T is not a magic injection that cures everything overnight. Recovery still takes time, and you have to rebuild your strength gradually.

After discharge, I went home to recover and returned to the hospital regularly for follow-up. About three months later, my appetite started to come back and I was gradually able to go outside for short walks. I could genuinely feel myself getting a little better every day.

For me, the happiest thing is not having to go through chemotherapy anymore. I can eat, I can sleep, and I feel so much lighter emotionally.

This April, when I went to Zhejiang during the Qingming holiday to visit family graves, I spent a day sightseeing as well. Seeing spring everywhere—the green grass, birds, peach blossoms, and fresh willow leaves—I felt the joy of simply being alive in a way I hadn’t for a long time.

Spring scenery photographed by Ms. Zhang in April 2026

Q6: After such a difficult treatment journey and gradually finding your way back to everyday life, has your perspective on life changed?

A serious illness completely disrupted the life I had planned and forced me to leave the classroom I loved. The repeated setbacks and the pain of treatment pushed me into a deep depression for a time. Looking back on those darkest days, it was my family’s unwavering support and encouragement, together with the professional treatment and thoughtful care I received from every healthcare professional I met, that helped me reach this important milestone in my recovery and gradually find my way out of that emotional darkness.

Today, I am more open-minded and at peace than I used to be. Before I became ill, work left me little time for many of the things I enjoyed. Now I can return to them slowly—practicing calligraphy, painting, and embroidery. Each one helps me settle my mind and notice the small, beautiful details of everyday life. I also have opportunities to visit cities I had always wanted to see and experience places I once knew only from books.

If I ever have the chance to stand in a classroom again, I would like to tell my students what this experience taught me about life after facing mortality: strength does not mean never breaking down. It means that even after your defenses have given way, you can still find a way to climb back up.

Life is unpredictable, but that uncertainty has also taught me how to value what I have and live with greater calm.

Ms. Zhang’s life through painting and calligraphy