A woman who was given one year to live has now been given a cancer-free diagnosis, after taking part in a clinical trial.
Jasmin David, 51, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in November 2017 after finding a lump in her nipple.
When she found out the cancer had spread to her lungs, chest bone and lymph nodes, she was given one year to live.
David spent the following six months undergoing chemotherapy, and had a mastectomy in April 2018. This was followed by 15 cycles of radiotherapy which cleared her of cancer.
However, the cancer returned in October 2019 when scans showed multiple lesions throughout David’s body.
David then decided to take part in a clinical trial where she was given experimental medicine combined with immunotherapy drug Atezolizumab, which she has injected every three weeks.
After two years on the trial, the mother-of-two has been declared cancer-free once again.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, David said she wasn’t sure if the trial would work for her, but it was “something to help others and use my body for the next generation”.
David described suffering from “horrible” side effects including headaches and high temperatures.
“I was in hospital over Christmas and quite poorly. Then thankfully I started to respond well to the treatment,” she added.
“Two and a half years ago I thought it was the end and I now feel like I’ve been reborn.
“There is a change in my life after returning from India to see family in April and I have decided to take early retirement and to live my life in gratitude to God and to medical science. My family have been very supportive of this decision.”
David will continue taking the treatment until December 2023.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 55,920 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. It has a survival rate of 76 per cent.
In a statement clinical trial lead and oncologist at The Christie, Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite, said: “We are really pleased that Jasmin has had such a good outcome. At The Christie we are continually testing new drugs and therapies to see if they can benefit more people.”
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust manages the Christie Hospital in Manchester and is one of the largest cancer treatment centres of its kind in Europe.
