Jennifer Matthews: Lunch with your son is special for any dad, but it's extra special for Ron Clune.
Ron Clune: I'm alive, I wasn't supposed to be.
Jennifer Matthews: In 2004, Clune was told he had a brain tumor the size of a fist on the side of his head. Doctors said he had two weeks to live.
Ron Clune: When they came to take me on the gurney to get the operation, I just laid back and said, I really don't want to die God, but let your will be done.
Jennifer Matthews: The goal for Clune's tumor was to shrink it or stop the growth, a challenge because every tumor is different. Ron is on a new treatment called SDX. The drug is pumped into him for five days straight every 21 days.
Marc Chamberlain: This particular drug disrupts the ability of the tumor to create a copy of its own genetic material.
Jennifer Matthews: SDX only works in those who lack the MTAP gene, that's about one in every four patients. Dr. Marc Chamberlain says it's a targeted therapy for a targeted group of patients.
Marc Chamberlain: We've treated nine patients on this phase 1 trial, and we've had two of the nine patients who had sustained responses for more than a year.
Jennifer Matthews: He says that's impressive, plus, the side effects of SDX are minimal.
Ron Clune: I'm real active, and I don't like to be sitting on the couch because I got a lot of stuff to do.
Jennifer Matthews: A former national speed champion, boater and biker, Ron says there's still more life in him to live. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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