A DENTON garage owner helping provide information on cancer care for the future is one of the patients included in a major report.
Lee Young decided to take part in the clinical trial called CUPISCO, the aim of which is to understand whether personalised treatment options, with either targeted treatments or immunotherapy, can improve outcomes for certain patients with cancer of the unknown primary (CUP).
Now his tumour has reduced by more than half and he has run the Manchester Half Marathon to raise funds for the Christie Hospital, he is one of the people featured in its Charity’s Impact Report.
Lee, 57, was diagnosed with secondary cancer in March 2022 after experiencing pain in his back.
He went to Tameside Hospital, where a scan revealed an 8.5cm-long tumour near his kidneys. He was then referred to The Christie, where he was diagnosed with CUP.
CUP can be difficult to treat because, although doctors find a secondary tumour, they cannot find the primary one.
Without that important bit of information, it can be difficult to know where to start with treatment.
As a result, people diagnosed with CUP often have a poor prognosis. Despite making up approximately two per cent of all new cancer cases, CUP accounts for six per cent of all cancer deaths.
Lee’s doctors told him there was only one type of chemotherapy that would work, or he could wait to see if he could be put on the phase II trial.
He waited for that and his tumour has now shrunk by over half after three rounds of chemotherapy and the first round of immunotherapy.
The trial is taking place at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at The Christie.
The Impact Report looks back over 2022/2023 and highlights what impact The Christie Charity has made to cancer patients and their families.
It supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds.
This includes money for care and treatment, research, education, and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.
Lee said: “When I initially went to the hospital, the doctors told me there was basically nothing they could do for me, it was such a shock.
“When I came to The Christie and they told me about the clinical trial, I said yes without hesitation as even if it didn’t work for me, I knew I’d be helping someone in the future.
“The doctors and nurses at The Christie are fantastic.
“I feel very comfortable there, knowing I’m at the best place in the world for treatment.
“I can’t thank everybody enough – that’s why my daughter Aleisha and I decided to raise money by running the Manchester half marathon because of the fantastic care they have been giving me.”