Doctor Faced with Cancer Diagnosis Honored by San Diego Padres

Soon after retiring from UC San Diego Health, Stephen Hayden, MD, found himself in a place he knew very well — the doctor's office. This time, however, he was in the patient's chair. 

For more than 30 years, Hayden was an emergency medicine physician at UC San Diego Health and remains professor emeritus at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, teaching the next generation of doctors. He is experienced in addressing a wide range of illnesses and ailments, whether it's a chronic disease or an emergency case, and is skilled in remaining calm under pressure in order to identify how to help others quickly. 

So when a persistent cough remained after a cold, he knew it shouldn't be cause for serious concern, but he also knew he should meet with his doctor to confirm.

"I originally thought I was experiencing just a residual cough after developing a cold that would eventually go away, but when it continued, I decided to go see my doctor to get checked out," said Hayden. "I'm so thankful for my primary care doctor who decided to order imaging and tests to identify what was causing the cough to stick around."

After meeting with his doctor at UC San Diego Health, Hayden underwent chest imaging that showed scarring in his lungs. He then underwent additional testing, including bloodwork, which came back abnormal. 

A bone marrow biopsy confirmed a diagnosis Hayden never expected to receive — his unusual, persistent cough was a result of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of the immune system. 

"From there, things started moving really fast," said Hayden. "Within a matter of weeks, I had met my incredible oncologist, my treatment plan was confirmed, and I was also enrolled in a clinical trial looking at a new therapy for multiple myeloma."

Harnessing a New Approach to Blood Cancer

Hayden received his treatment at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Care Center in San Diego County. Such centers are prominent among the leading institutions in the nation that are dedicated to scientific innovation and clinical excellence, and studies show that outcomes are better at NCI-designated centers. Moores Cancer Center, specifically, is unique in bringing clinical care together with support services, clinical trials (more than 200) for novel therapies, prevention and outreach programs, and cancer research laboratories — all under one roof.

"As part of the robust portfolio of clinical trials we have available at UC San Diego Health, Dr. Hayden was offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma," said Caitlin Costello, MD, hematologist and medical oncologist at UC San Diego Health who led Hayden's treatment plan. "The specific trial he took part in, entitled CARTITUDE-6, evaluated the role of CAR T-cell therapy as compared to the current standard of care, bone marrow transplant, for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma."

UC San Diego Health has a strong tradition of advancing personalized cancer therapies and is one of a select number of medical centers involved in the clinical trials that establish the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy, a type of immunotherapy based on genetically modifying a patient's T-cells. 

CAR stands for chimeric antigen receptor. These receptors are proteins on the T-cells' surface engineered to recognize a specific antigen (protein) found on certain cancer cells. These receptors can be thought of as claws that enable T-cells (white blood cells) to find and grasp tumor cells. In a laboratory, a deactivated virus is used to insert genes into the T-cells that direct the production of these receptors. These CAR T-cells are then grown in a lab until there is a sufficient quantity of cells for therapy.
 
Because a person's own T-cells are used in treatment, CAR T-cell therapy is a personalized cancer therapy.

"The specific trial Dr. Hayden took part in is considered one of the most important clinical trials of this decade for multiple myeloma, as it could potentially replace a longstanding treatment option for the disease and create new therapy options for future patients," said Costello, principal investigator of the CARTITUDE-6 clinical trial and member of Moores Cancer Center. "After undergoing four months of treatment, Dr. Hayden is now in remission from his cancer and continues to work, particularly in educating and inspiring the next-generation of doctors who serve our communities in the Emergency Department."

Entitled the Ringing in Hope ceremony, the newly established ballpark tradition celebrates patients with cancer by giving them the opportunity to ring the stadium's Ceremonial Mission Bell before a game. Hayden is the third patient of UC San Diego Health to be recognized as part of the Ringing in Hope pre-game ceremony for the 2026 season.  

Celebrating with him in the stands was Hayden's wife, his children and members of his care team, including Costello. They cheered on the man they know and care for as a colleague, doctor, professor, patient, and dad.   

"It has been an honor to spend my career actively participating in academic medicine, as a physician at UC San Diego Health and professor of clinical emergency medicine at UC San Diego; however, I now fully understand the true impact this has on our incredible patients after going through my own life-saving treatment," said Hayden. "To now be celebrating my cancer remission with my beloved family at a Padres game is a day I will never forget. I'm so thankful to the incredible care team that made it a reality."