Great story about our friend David: "Retired MD officer part

[CindyA]

BALTIMORE —During this coming Friday's "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon, many in Maryland may see a familiar face. Organizers of the fundraiser have flown a retired Baltimore police officer and his wife to the event in L.A. to share his story of survival.

11 News I-Team reporter Deborah Weiner sat down with Officer David Gobin before he left.

Just a few years after he retired from the Baltimore Police Department's K-9 unit, Gobin received horrible news: He had lung cancer. His loving wife, Stephanie, was told he had a 15 percent chance of living for one more year.

"I figured, I'm going to die, but I'm not going to die easy," Gobin told Weiner. "(It's been) six years and four months, and I'm still alive. There's not a big group of us."

Gobin endured surgery, radiation and two difficult chemotherapy clinical trials.

"Nothing has worked, but they kept me alive. What more could I ask for?" Gobin said.

After those treatments came a two-year experiment at Johns Hopkins Hospital using drugs that are aimed at restoring the immune system's ability to spot and attack cancer. It was another clinical trial, this time for immune-based therapies, called PD-1.

"It was a one-hour infusion, easy-peasy. It was every two weeks for two years. I had enough chemo in me to float a boat," Gobin said.

Success came early for Gobin, and it has lingered. He has now gone 19 months without any cancer treatment at all.

"This PD-1 has inhibited the two cancers from growing or spreading or doing anything. I'm living with cancer, not dying from cancer," he said.

Gobin has become a poster child for the promising cancer therapy. Though he only has 50 percent lung capacity, he is living a normal life in Manchester. The former cop said he called upon his street smarts to battle the ultimate opponent.

"You're in a fight you can't quit. If you quit, you die. It's the same thing with cancer," he said.

At age 64, Gobin and his wife are enjoying his retirement from law enforcement while thankful for every day they have.

Weiner asked him what he sees in his future.

"What do I see in my future? A lot of years," he responded.

The "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon will air on all major networks, including NBC, at 8 p.m. Friday.

Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/health/retired-md ... z3CI9BMKqh