Robert Glynn was diagnosed with a form of bile duct cancer and received the harsh news that he only had about 12 months to live. A test with an experimental drug, however, changed the course of the patient, who managed to get rid of all tumors.
The 51-year-old man, who lives in the village of Worsley, in the city of Salford, England, “took the chance” to participate in an immunotherapy trial at The Christie in Manchester, an organization that manages Christie Hospital, one of the largest treatment centers of this type of cancer in Europe.
Robert Glynn was diagnosed with a form of bile duct cancer and was told he only had about 12 months to live.reproduction
Robert Glynn CancerRobert Glynn managed to get rid of cancer with experimental medicinereproduction
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Cancer found by chance
He was diagnosed in 2020 after going to the doctor with severe shoulder pain. Second BBC reportthe patient, who works as a welder, reported that the pain prevented him from sleeping.
At the time, he underwent several blood tests, but his cancer was only detected by chance when he had a gallbladder infection.
One day before his 49th birthday, in August 2020, he was informed that he had intrahepatic cancer of the bile ducts, which was in an advanced stage and had spread to the adrenal gland. In the UK alone, around 1,000 people a year are diagnosed with cancer.
Referred to The Christie, Robert Glynn was offered the opportunity to participate in the clinical trial of an unnamed experimental immunotherapy drug combined with standard chemotherapy.
Tumors have shrunk
The treatment caused a liver tumor to shrink from 12 cm to 2.6 cm. The adrenal gland shrunk from 7 cm to 4.1 cm. This impressive result indicated that Glynn could undergo surgery to remove the tumors.
The procedure was carried out in April of this year and, to the surprise of the doctors, in the place where the tumors were, the surgeons found only dead tissue: the treatment had killed all the cancer cells.
Celebrating the new and surprising result, the patient stated that when “I was given the option to participate in the research, I jumped at the chance”. “You do everything you can to prolong your life,” he said.
“I feel really lucky because I had the cancer for two years and I had no idea, so coming clean was overwhelming.
Since the surgery, Robert Glynn has had no further treatment. His regular scans show that he remains completely cancer free.
Long awaited result
Professor Juan Valle, from Christie’s, conducted the study and reckons that the results of the survey and of another larger study were “greatly anticipated by colleagues around the world”. “It could lead to a change in the way we treat patients like Robert in the future.”
According to Valle, Glynn did very well with this combination of drugs. His case was considered serious due to the fact that the tumors have a high number of genetic mutations. The professor also highlighted the importance of specialized medicine in the treatment of cancer.
Glynn’s Second Chance
The second chance at life made Robert Glynn change his lifestyle. He has cut back on processed foods for good, lost about 31 kilos and spends most of his time with his wife, Simone, exercising, hiking and enjoying nature.
“I realized that you can’t just rely on doctors to help you, you have to help yourself too,” he said.
Faith and optimism, according to him, are also important for those facing the fight against cancer. “It is important to stay positive and not give up. It’s never over until it’s over.”
