A grandad diagnosed with advanced lung cancer which often leaves patients dead within four months has become free of the disease after being treated with a new immunotherapy drug.

Jeff Cook was told he had stage four cancer in 2019 after seeking treatment for a sore on his chest that wasn’t getting any better.

Around 50% of people who are diagnosed with stage four cancer die within four months of their diagnosis and only 5% of patients will still be alive five years later, according to Cancer Research UK.

The 76-year-old was advised to get radiation therapy to target the tumor directly—but was also told he could try a new treatment called pembrolizumab (sold under the brand name Keytruda).

A type of immunotherapy, pembrolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets and blocks the PD-1 receptor on the surface of our T cells, which then enables the immune system to find and kill the cancer.

The drug was previously deemed too expensive as it would cost around £84,000 per patient ($113k), but an agreement was reached with the manufacturer by the British National Health Service (the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK) to reduce the cost.

After receiving the treatment for around two years, Jeff was told that he is officially cancer free.

“Considering I had such an advanced cancer, and the survival statistics were not in my favor, I feel like the pembrolizumab has been a medical miracle,” said the grandfather-of-two. “I’m able to live life to the full as a result.”

Jeff, who has two sons, gave up smoking more than 20 years ago, but towards the end of 2018, he realized that he had a sore on the left side of his chest which wasn’t getting better—despite being prescribed antibiotics.

BEARS CAN RECOVER TOO! Bear Shocks Vets By Going into Remission From Terminal Cancer After Taking Meds in Honey–a Rare Treat That Delights Her

He was referred to a chest specialist at Leighton Hospital in Cheshire, where he later received the terminal diagnosis.

Dr. David Woolf then suggested that Jeff could try the pembrolizumab treatment, which was fairly new at the time—and comes with various possible side effects.

“The pembrolizumab was kind to my body, and I had no noticeable side effects from the treatment,” Jeff said in an article from SWNS news agency. “After three or four treatments, I was leading a normal life again.”

Jeff is now taking vacations with his wife of over 50 years and is active in sports again at his local cricket club.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Dr. Woolf and all the NHS staff who have helped me during my treatment—and to the scientists and researchers who helped to develop such a wonderful life-saving drug.”

CHECK OUT THESE CANCER CURES:
• Man Living with Tremors for 30 Years Is Cured by Ultrasound Beam Paid by Medicare: ‘It’s unbelievable!’
• Teen with Incredibly Rare Genetic Condition is Cured in World First By British Doctors
• Belgian Boy is the First Child in the World to Have Been Cured of Brain Stem Glioma, a Brutal Cancer

Dr Woolf says he’s “delighted” that Jeff has had such a positive response to the treatment and is now cancer-free six years after his diagnosis.

“Stage four lung cancer remains very serious with average survival figures of less than a year. However, new treatments such as immunotherapy are a game changer for some of our patients.

“We still need to do better at diagnosing patients earlier though, and continuing to develop new and better treatments.”

SHARE SOME HOPE By Spreading The Good News On Social Media…