Patient stories

Kate Parker was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer just before her 30th birthday. She tells us what more treatment options mean for her.

Hilary Morgan kindly shared the story of her husband, Tim, to support our bowel cancer fundraising appeal. Tim was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer at the age of 43. Here, Hilary tells us more about how pioneering treatments gave him a chance to live.

Sue’s husband, Philip, was entered onto a clinical trial for abiraterone when his prostate cancer developed resistance to the treatment he was on. She tells us what a difference it made to their lives.

After both he and his sister were diagnosed with breast cancer, Tony Herbert decided to undergo genetic testing to see if he had a BRCA mutation. Here he talks about how the result may have saved his life.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have helped discover and develop many targeted treatments that are enabling cancer patients to live longer and with a better quality of life. Sally Steadman-South explains what these research advances have meant for her and her family, and why she needs this work to continue.

Research carried out by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, into cancer susceptibility genes has transformed our understanding of the inheritance of cancer risk. Genetic information can be used to help people with cancer and their families by informing them about their risk and guiding decisions over personalised cancer treatment. Cara Hoofe was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016. She has the inherited condition Lynch syndrome which means she had an 80% chance of developing bowel cancer and has a higher risk of developing womb and ovarian cancer. Here she explains how living with Lynch syndrome has changed her life.

Hundreds of thousands of men with prostate cancer across the world are now able to live longer and with a better quality of life, thanks to abiraterone. Discovered and developed by The Institute of Cancer Research, the drug was the first treatment shown to be effective in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Rob Lester is one of those patients, and has been on abiraterone for around 8 years.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research have already been involved in the discovery and development of many targeted treatments that are helping cancer patients live longer and with a better quality of life. Now we’re taking our research a step further with the world’s first drug discovery programme to tackle the challenge of drug resistance. Christine O’Connell, who is living with advanced breast cancer, explains why it’s so important.