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Granddad had cancer all over his body but beat it without chemo
Granddad Stephen Cossins is cancer free just two years after being riddled with the disease.
But what is more amazing is that Stephen, 71, beat cancer without chemotherapy. The granddad, who has been married for more than 40 years and lives in Amersham in Buckinghamshire, took part in a clinical drugs trial.
He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a rare type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, in 2016 but it was not until three years later that it started to spread aggressively around his body leaving him lethargic and losing weight.
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As the cancer spread he was invited by a consultant to take part in the FLAIR trial into drugs. He was put on Ibrutinib three times a day for three months, before then taking another drug, venetolclax, as well. Two years later, he has no signs of cancer, reports WalesOnline.
The grandfather, who has three grandchildren aged eight, seven and four, said: “Initially I didn’t think that taking part in the trial was for me.
“I thought that I would prefer to have chemotherapy because it’s the standard treatment. I thought ‘do I really want to be a guinea pig for new drugs?’
“But after the consultant and nurses explained that by taking these drugs as part of the trial, there was a possibility of being completely cancer free in two years, I thought it was worth a shot. I had to roll the dice. I’ve now got more time to spend with my grandkids, my family and my wife.
“We’ve been married for 46 years. I think we’ll celebrate being cancer-free properly with a short break in Devon or Cornwall.
“It was the best thing I ever did. I entered the trial three years ago and was cured, cancer free, after two years. It’s amazing. My wife and children are all delighted. I don’t think any of us believed this day would come. It’s wonderful but I’m so relieved it’s over.
“I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve been successful on the trial but I hope it can help other people going through the same thing.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which helped fund the study Mr Cossins took part in, has launched a Shape the Future campaign to urge people to join health research. It runs the Be Part of Research service, which has attracted more than 150,000 people so far.
This new digital ‘match-making’ service helps people to find and take part in health and care research across the UK. People can register their interest via the Be Part of Research website or via the NHS App if they live in England, and they can choose which health conditions they are interested in, such as diabetes, cancer and back pain, or sign up as a healthy volunteer.
People can also choose what type of research they want to do, such as drug trials, scans, focus groups or filling in online questionnaires.
NIHR chief executive and chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health, Professor Lucy Chappell, said: “The NIHR funds and supports research that aims to make a difference to patients across the country – and even further afield. Our research covers all areas from the laboratory right through to the clinic.
“It leads to new treatments that benefit us in so many different ways, across so many different areas of health and care. Patients and the wider public are vital to this research – it is you who help researchers find the cures, treatments and breakthroughs that can help us, our friends and families to live the best and healthiest lives possible.”
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