Roxane Isal, who was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to her liver, has become cancer-free after two years on an experimental drug. Her initial prognosis was grim, with doctors giving her only months to live.
Isal's cancer was discovered when an MRI revealed a 3.5cm tumor on her pancreas, with the disease having spread to her liver. Upon receiving the diagnosis, her primary concern was how to inform her children, who were nine and six years old at the time. She is now alive and cancer-free, a situation she acknowledges is a result of her participation in a new drug trial.
Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate, with approximately half of those diagnosed succumbing within three months of their diagnosis. Isal, who lives in west London with her husband Steve and their children, recognizes she is among the fortunate individuals to have responded so positively to the treatment.
She was treated by Professor Naureen Starling, a consultant medical oncologist who is also a reader at the Institute of Cancer Research. Starling's work involves researching and implementing new cancer therapies.
Isal's recovery highlights the potential of new drug therapies in treating advanced cancers. While not all patients experience such dramatic results, her case offers a hopeful example of treatment success in a disease with historically poor outcomes.
