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Doctors tests new drug on patient at Charlotte's Levine Cancer Institute

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Amanda Thomas' faith has brought her a long way.

She told Channel 9 that if she hadn’t been rushed to the hospital after a car crash in November 2017, she might have never known she had brain cancer.

“I was like, ‘I'm gonna let God handle it because I know he believes in me, and that's all that matters,” Thomas said.

In the video above, anchor Erica Bryant talks to a doctor about how the new drug worked for a patient at Levine Cancer Institute.

Thomas’ tumor was deep in her brain, and in a rare form.

Dr. Ashley Sumrall identified Amanda as a perfect candidate for a new drug clinical trial at Levine Cancer Institute.

“It targets a pathway, and in that pathway, there are receptors,” Sumrall said. “This goes in and blocks the cups on the tumor so they can't be filled.”

Doctors said it's stopped the tumor from growing and now it's undetectable on her scans.

“At first, I was like five pills, I don't know if I can do this, but I gave it a try,” Thomas said. “It was the best thing I did in my life.”

Researchers are optimistic about what so far appears to be a medical miracle that could soon be available for others.

“Some patients have had over a 90 percent response and it does this without harming other tissues, and with minimal side effects, so it’s almost perfect for her,” Sumrall said.

Sumrall said if she had not Thomas two years ago, she would not have made it this far.

Researchers have been working on the drug for 10 years.

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