A cancer-stricken grandfather given just 12 months to live has undergone a breakthrough treatment which killed his tumours - in just two days.
Brian Brooks, 72, received the devastating prognosis after a random bowel screening test showed his colon and liver was riddled with cancer.
With nothing to lose, the father-of-two from Ely, Cambridgeshire, put himself forward for a trial therapy for liver cancer called Foxfire, spearheaded by Cancer Research UK's Bobby Moore Fund.
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| Great news: Brian Brooks (pictured with his wife Nicky) had his tumours killed in just two days by the new treatment |
Remarkably, his tumours were killed off after only two days of treatment - which meant doctors were then able to treat the cancer in his colon.
Experts now believe the breakthrough treatment could help treat thousands of cancer sufferers across Britain.
The Bobby Moore Fund was established by Stephanie Moore in 1993 in memory of her late husband Bobby. He was captain of the England team which won the World Cup and captained West Ham. He died from bowel cancer aged just 51.
Mr Brooks, of Ely, Cambridgeshire, is one of only 40 Britons to be treated in the Foxfire trial and one of the first to be given the all-clear.
He is now in remission - and describes his treatment as a ‘miracle’.
He said: ‘I was given a death sentence, it's a very difficult thing to get your head around.
'My family were devastated and one of the worst things for me was thinking I may not see my three year-old granddaughter grow up.
'But they never gave up hope and were tremendously supportive, that helped me through the treatment.
'To be told you have 12 months to live and then to have completely healed 12 months down the line, we believe is a miracle.
'Obviously there is always the risk that the cancer can come back but I am now in remission and that is something that the doctors did not believe was possible.'
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| New lease on life: Brian taking his dog for a walk in Cambridgeshire after recovering from cancer which was previously diagnosed as terminal |
'We've just had the results back and my doctors can't believe its success - they say they are astonished.
'If we hadn't been informed about this trial, Brian would not be here today.'
Brian, a retired boarding kennel owner from Ely, Cambridgeshire, went for a random bowel screening test at Addenbrooke's Hospital on September 6, 2010.
The scans showed a tumour in his colon and others in his liver - which doctors told him they were unable to operate on.
Brian and Nicky were forced to break the news to their son Iain, 45, daughter Joanne, 40, and grandson William, 3.
But they were given hope when Brian was accepted onto the Foxfire trial, to try radioembolisation therapy, which is only available on the NHS to patients treated the second time around.
Brian was given the treatment at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and went for the first stage, when doctors plotted the blood flow over his liver, on November 17.
The following day he was given the second part of the treatment which involved a blast of nuclear spores into the blood cells which were feeding the tumour.
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| The grandfather-of-one was treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge |
He began 11 sessions of traditional chemotherapy to shrink the tumour in his colon, which doctors removed seven weeks ago.
Brian added: 'I remember seeing the results of my scan and reading 'Complete resolution of all liver tumours' - it was incredible.
'My family and I are so grateful to the Bobby Moore Fund, Cancer UK and of cause the wonderful doctors at Addenbrookes.'
Radioembolisation is a combination of radiation therapy and a procedure called embolisation to treat cancer of the liver.
Unlike traditional radiotherapy, which is directed at the tumour from outside the body, this delivers a high dose of radiation from inside the diseased area of the body.
Tiny resin beads called microspheres are placed inside the blood vessels that feed a tumour to block the supply of blood to the cancer cells.
Once these radioactive microspheres become lodged at the tumour site they deliver a high dose of radiation with minimal damage to healthy cells.
The trial co-ordinated by Oxford University was launched in February 2010 and 40 patients have so far enrolled.
Worldwide 800 patients have been treated, half receiving chemotherapy and radioembolisation and the other 400 given chemotherapy alone.
Kate Law, Cancer Research UK's director of clinical trials said: 'Without clinical trials like Foxfire, we wouldn't be able to improve techniques for cancer that are hard to treat.
'It's a promising trial and we look forward to following its progress and seeing the results.'
1st September 2011
Dailymail.co.uk
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2032252/Foxfire-cancer-treatment-sees-Brian-Brooks-tumours-killed-TWO-DAYS.html
