\u201cI told my doctor I would be using this drug for many years to come,\u201d Gilat recalled with a grin.<\/p>\n
He started a targeted therapy treatment with a PARP inhibitor, which aims to prevent cancer cells from repairing their DNA. When the trial ended 15 months later, Gilat was the only patient still enrolled in the trial who was alive. He was allowed to continue the treatment for several years, until it stopped working about two years ago.<\/p>\n
A team of doctors then placed him on an immunotherapy drug that wasn\u2019t yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Gilat also asked to undergo another complex operation to remove as much of the cancer as possible — \u201ceven though surgery is almost unheard of in such systemic cancer cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of Gilat\u2019s reason for pushing the medical envelope again was a 2012 recurrence of Keren\u2019s breast cancer, which had been in remission since 2004. A highly respected defense attorney in Tel Aviv, Keren Nahari Gilat died in June.<\/p>\n
Gilat recalled how two years ago they were hospitalized in different hospitals. Keren\u2019s doctors predicted she would live just 48 hours longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive days after my surgery I ran to be by her side. We were able to overcome this crisis, but her condition was very fragile,\u201d Gilat said, his voice quiet. \u201cFortunately she was able to live another two years using every treatment possible on earth. I am thankful we gained some beautiful time together with the girls, who are now 8 and 9, and another daughter, 20, from my first marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilat\u2019s life today is very different from the one he led before he fell ill. Once focused primarily on being a successful businessman, today his top priorities are his daughters and living with cancer. His treatment regimen includes taking more than two dozen pills every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life turned around 180 degrees,\u201d said Gilat, now 55. \u201cI had to stop working and am classified as 100 percent disabled. Today all I care about are my daughters and to do good for people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He devotes much of his time to his position as Israel chairman of the\u00a0Israel Cancer Research Fund<\/a>, which raises money \u2013 primarily in North America but now also in Israel — to fund cutting-edge Israeli science that is among the world\u2019s most innovative cancer research. Since its inception in 1975, ICRF has given more than 2,400 grants totaling nearly $64 million to Israeli scientists and research facilities.<\/p>\n Gilat first learned about the ICRF in 2011 from his wife, who had attended one of the fund\u2019s events around the time Gilat first became sick. Keren suggested they host a parlor meeting in their Savyon home, where the living room is filled with oil paintings and looks out onto a spacious garden and swimming pool.<\/p>\n When the fundraiser took place, Gilat was recovering from cancer-related surgery and was very weak. Keren asked him to address the guests, but he wasn\u2019t sure what to say.<\/p>\n Then he thought about the work of Dr. Gal Merkel from Sheba Medical Center and Tel Aviv University, one of the scientists present that evening and a brilliant young cancer researcher involved in immunotherapy studies that served as the basis for Gilat\u2019s own treatment years later. Gilat took out his box of immunotherapy pills and said, \u201cThis research is real, it\u2019s not theoretical. Research saves lives. I am here today thanks to cancer research.\u201d<\/p>\n This summer, the U.S.-based Cancer Research Institute \u2014 the world\u2019s leading nonprofit dedicated to immunotherapy \u2014\u00a0announced it was teaming up with ICRF to jointly fund immunotherapy-related research in Israel<\/a>. The goal of the partnership is to combine CRI\u2019s immunological expertise with ICRF\u2019s longstanding relationships with Israeli institutions to encourage and support the best immunotherapy research in Israel and push Israel\u2019s best scientific minds to increase their focus on such research.<\/p>\n Eric Heffler, ICRF\u2019s national executive director in New York, said Gilat\u2019s determination to live and infectious optimism are great motivators for the organization and an inspiration to cancer patients.<\/p>\n \u201cTamir shows that if life kicks you, you kick back harder,\u201d Heffler said. \u201cAt ICRF, we are inspired to raise more money for cancer research thanks to Tamir’s drive and determination.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Gilat says that having cancer \u201chas made me a better person. It showed me that my most precious possession is the time I have left.\u201d<\/p>\n (This article was\u00a0sponsored<\/a>\u00a0by and produced in partnership with the\u00a0Israel<\/span>\u00a0Cancer<\/span>\u00a0Research<\/span>\u00a0Fund<\/span><\/a>, which is committed to finding and funding breakthrough treatments and cures for all forms of\u00a0cancer<\/span>, leveraging the unique talent, expertise and benefits that\u00a0Israel<\/span>\u00a0and its scientists have to offer.\u00a0<\/em>This article was produced by JTA\u2019s native content team.)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")