“The Royal Marsden is a centre of excellence” - Alan’s lung cancer story
Alan’s lung cancer has stabilised since receiving treatment and life-changing support from the Senior Adult Oncology Programme at The Royal Marsden. He’s decided to include a generous gift in his Will as a way of saying thank you.
75-year-old Alan, who is type 2 diabetic, was having regular blood tests during COVID. After one test came back as abnormal, Alan went for a more thorough check at his local hospital. An X-Ray scan discovered a mass on his lung, but as it was small and inactive, the hospital told him there was nothing to worry about and organised annual check-ups.
“In 2022, I had my second annual check, and they told me something had changed. After a lung biopsy to investigate further, my wife and I were called in for the results. The mass was malignant – it was cancer on my lung.”
Alan’s cancer was removed via keyhole surgery in November that year. Some lymph nodes removed during surgery were sent off for testing; one lymph node was found to be malignant, which made Alan’s diagnosis Stage 2 cancer.
Targeted treatment at The Royal Marsden
After his diagnosis, Alan was referred to The Royal Marsden under the care of Professor Mary O’Brien.
“It was quite late in the day when we got to the hospital but after hearing about the symptoms I had, Mary rushed us from room to room to make sure I could still undergo the tests I needed there and then – X-Ray and CT scans.”
Results from the tests showed that Alan had a rare genetic mutation in his cancer cells. For this, Alan was given a relatively new drug called Osimertinib. Osimertinib is a targeted therapy drug known as a cancer growth inhibitor, used to treat small-cell lung cancer with specific mutations. Before starting on Osimertinib, Alan was required to undergo chemotherapy treatment but soon stopped after two rounds, as it was damaging his kidneys.
“After six months of targeted therapy on Osimertinib, I came off this treatment as my body wasn’t tolerating the drug very well. Despite the fact I was meant to be on this treatment for three years, the team decided that the risks were starting to outweigh the benefits.”
Life-changing additional support: “I stopped registering as diabetic”
When Alan began treatment at The Royal Marsden, he was recommended by his clinical team to join The Senior Adult Oncology Programme (SAOP), which is supported by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
SAOP is designed specifically for cancer patients above the age of 70. The programme focuses on personalised care, recognising that cancer treatment can be more complex at this age due to various health factors.
Alan said: “The first meeting felt a little overwhelming; there were about seven people in the room with us, including a pharmacist, nutrition expert and an oncologist! At a time when everything felt quite bleak, it was just what we needed to have that additional support and get answers to any questions we had.
“I was grateful to have access to so many experts. I had been taking lots of daily medication for all sorts of things like my blood pressure and diabetes. The pharmacist gave me advice on the combination of all the medication I was on. She contacted our GP surgery directly and as a result, I ended up coming off some of the tablets I’d been taking.
“Throughout this process I’d lost weight and started eating a healthier diet. Whilst being treated at The Royal Marsden, I stopped registering as Type 2 diabetic. Having the nutritionist’s support allowed us to check we were doing all the right things when it came to my diet, which was reassuring.
“The Royal Marsden means a lot to us – it really is a centre of excellence. It feels like a better environment not just for the patients but for the staff who work there. We were planning to move home but after my care at The Royal Marsden, we felt we would be better off staying put and being under their care.”
Alan and Trudy thank The Royal Marsden with a generous gift in their Will
“I’m feeling really well at the moment – my cancer’s stable and I’m on regular monitoring at The Royal Marsden to check there is no recurrence of the cancer. Monitoring was initially every three months for scans and blood tests, but it’s now every six months.
“We’ve recently updated our Wills and have included a gift to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. It’s our way of saying thank you to the hospital and we hope that it will help other people in the future.
“Everything at The Royal Marsden has been brilliant. Knowing now that the Senior Adult Oncology Programme is supported by Charity funding – we’re so glad this is an area the Charity is supporting as it’s been so helpful for us.”
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