Not too long ago, Bob Berry was told that he only had 18 months to live due to the lung cancer that had riddled his internal organs. The 60-year-old, from Stockport in the UK, was first diagnosed with the disease three years ago when he sought medical care for the pain he was suffering in his shoulder.
Scans would later show a shadow on his lungs and he would be referred to another hospital where he was told he suffered from cancer, Bob said.
“My GP said the scan showed a shadow on my lungs so I was referred to hospital, where I found out it was a cancerous tumor that needed to be removed,” he said.
He went under the knife only to be dealt more devastating news: the cancer was growing and had already reached his lymph nodes.
Bob was then again referred to The Christie for treatment using a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. But even the doctors at the facility, which is one of the largest cancer treatment centers in Europe, couldn’t help him. It was then that he was asked to take part in a clinical trial at the hospital becoming one of the first people ever to be treated with the as-of-yet unnamed drug. Twelve months down the line, his scans showed that there was no trace of the cancer in his body, a fact that has given Bob a big relief, to say the least.
“Three years ago, I was given 12 – 18 months to live but I have already surpassed that and I feel well,” he says.
The drug that was administered to Bob is unique in that it is the first time it has been tested on humans. The study combined it with an immunotherapy treatment, which harnesses and enhances the powers of the immune system to fight disease, so that it would be more effective.
For now, Bob remains cancer-free but doctors say that they will continue to regularly monitor him to assess how durable the response will be.
Featured image courtesy of The Mirror.
