From Chemo to CAR-T: A mum’s call for Child-First Drug Design
Courtney Addison on her son Cayden's cancer journey and the need for more targeted paediatric cancer treatments in an interview with C-Further, following her talk at C-Further's session at AACR Pediatric Special Conference in September 2025.
Courtney Addison and her sons, Cayden (left) and Christian (right), at the release event for the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2023. Photo ©2023 AACR/Vera LaMarche
Courtney Addison, mum of nine-year-old Cayden, is a patient advocate whose determination and lived experience have inspired the paediatric cancer community. She recently joined C-Further at the AACR Paediatric Special Conference where she introduced one of the plenary sessions, “From targets to trials: rethinking how we design child-first medicine.” At the session hosted by C-Further, Courtney shared her family’s story and the need for more targeted paediatric cancer treatments.
We sat down with Courtney to continue the important conversation.
Cayden’s diagnosis
In April of 2020, three-year-old Cayden started experiencing unusual leg pain and a loss of appetite. As an active young boy with a love for food, his mum, Courtney Addison was concerned. After multiple doctors’ visits and blood tests, Cayden was diagnosed with a rare, high-risk form of blood cancer called Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
“I didn’t even know how to spell leukaemia at the time, but I was ready for a fight. I dove into research, I read every pamphlet, and I was even brushing up on my biology,” shared Courtney.
Cayden’s treatment journey began with chemotherapy and a long list of medications. “It was a whole new world because he had always been a very healthy kid. At one point, Cayden was taking 13 medications a day,” Courtney said.
Even before he knew what school was, Cayden underwent daily chemotherapy for two years. The treatment came with difficult side effects — nausea, hair loss, and fatigue — but it successfully reduced his detectable leukaemia cells. In April of 2022, Cayden and his family were relieved to stop treatment.
Less than a year later, the cancer returned. Cayden resumed chemotherapy, but the side effects were severe. Determined to find a better way, Courtney worked closely with his doctors to find alternative options that would minimise side effects, while maintaining prolonged efficacy and reducing the risk of relapse.
Even before he knew what school was, Cayden underwent daily chemotherapy for two years. In 2022, Cayden and his family were relieved to stop treatment. Less than a year later, the cancer returned.
The impact of CAR T-cell therapy
"We began to explore CAR T-cell therapy because it seemed like a safer, less harsh option for him,” Courtney said.
Travelling nearly four hours from his home to Duke University, Cayden received CAR T-cell therapy with his mom by his side. It was a huge relief to see him respond well to treatment with essentially no side effects. Since then, he has completed a second successful round of CAR T-cell therapy, bringing him to near-zero detectable leukaemia cells.
Courtney’s gratitude for Cayden’s health goes hand in hand with her appreciation for the researchers, clinicians, and institutions who are working every day to advance innovative treatments like the CAR T-cell therapy Cayden received.
“I hope they know the impact of their daily work,” Courtney said. “As someone who has a child going through this, every single time that they clock in, they are giving me hope. Every time they put in those eight plus hours of work, they are adding fuel to my hope. It’s not just me – it’s my husband, it’s Cayden, it’s his brother, it’s his cousins, and it’s his grandparents.”
Despite spending much of his life in treatment, Cayden is now a vibrant, nine-year-old boy who loves spending time with his parents and his older brother Christian. He’s an avid movie lover and passionate about tacos.
The need for child-focused drug discovery
Stories like Cayden’s underscore the critical need for more effective, targeted medicines developed specifically for children and young people with cancer. Childhood cancers are biologically and developmentally distinct from adult cancers – requiring a unique approach.
To illustrate this contrast: only 12 medicines have been specifically approved for paediatric cancer in the last 10 years, compared to over 150 for adult cancers, in Europe between 2007 and 2022 as reported by the SIOPE (1).
C-Further aims to fill this gap. We’ve established an international consortium of drug discovery and development researchers, clinicians, partners, and impact investors with a shared commitment to creating new therapeutics for childhood cancers.
We're providing resources and drug discovery support to de-risk early-stage therapeutic projects and progress them to the stage where they can be picked up by industry and impact investors. With £37M (USD $50M) committed in resources and funding, C-Further aims to build one of the world’s fastest-growing child-focused drug discovery pipelines.
“C-Further provides platforms for voices like mine by getting into rooms that I can’t and advocating for Cayden,” Courtney said. “I’m hopeful and ready to look back five years from now and see all the treatment options that have come from these efforts.”
C-Further provides platforms for voices like mine by getting into rooms that I can’t and advocating for Cayden.
Join C-Further
Progress for paediatric cancer has long been held back. If you share our vision for a world where children and young people have access to effective, tailored, and well-tolerated treatments, join us. There is no better time to be part of the C-Further story: info@c-further.org
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