Larry Boyer, a 56-year-old dad from Connecticut, was facing the unthinkable: a stage-four pancreatic cancer diagnosis and a blunt prognosis that he’d likely have six months to live. But today, he’s rewriting medical stats and living cancer-free, thanks to an experimental treatment that defies convention. When doctors first delivered the grim news, Larry, a retired data scientist, understood the numbers weren’t on his side. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal types, with only a 3% survival rate when it reaches advanced stages. His case was severe—16 tumors had spread beyond his pancreas to other organs. However, his story was far from over.
“Once I started looking into other options,” Larry recalls, “I realized I didn’t have to settle for that six-month sentence.” He connected with the Williams Cancer Institute, where Dr. Jason Williams leads a team pioneering new cancer therapies. Williams’s approach combines cryoablation—a technique that freezes tumors to death—with a form of immunotherapy that triggers the body’s own immune response. It wasn’t covered by insurance, and it required trips to Mexico for affordable treatment, but Larry was determined. Over several months, he underwent cryotherapy and intratumoral immunotherapy in Cabo San Lucas, paying $125,000 out of pocket.
Through this treatment, his body became a battleground for innovation. By November, Larry’s scans showed that his main liver tumor had shrunk by half and his pancreatic tumor by 65%. Multiple smaller tumors in his liver had vanished. Today, his scans are clear, though Larry won’t be declared “cancer-free” until five years pass without a recurrence. “Every day I’m reminded of how lucky I am, especially when I see friends diagnosed after me losing their battles,” he says. For Larry, each scan feels like a triumph, a testament to the power of persistence and cutting-edge science.
Dr. Williams is determined to push his treatment forward despite the hurdles of gaining full U.S. approval and insurance backing. “We’re not stopping. People are dying; we’re here to change that,” he said. And if Larry’s story is anything to go by, that’s exactly what he’s doing—one freezing session at a time.
