‘I know my lung cancer is terminal but I don’t feel ill’

A woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer has praised the blood test which allowed her to get treatment sooner.

Rebeca Proctor, 41, from Carlisle, was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small-cell lung cancer in January.

At the time she was part of a pilot study looking at whether a blood test could be used to determine the genetic variant of a cancer quicker than a typical biopsy.

She said the blood test, also known as a liquid biopsy, had “saved her life”.

A liquid biopsy can detect tiny fragments of tumour DNA which circulate in the blood. This can help doctors figure out a cancer’s specific genetic variant.

By knowing this, a more personalised treatment can be offered, Prof Alastair Greystoke at Newcastle Hospitals said.

After suffering from breathlessness for months and going back and forth to the GP, Ms Proctor had an X-ray and CT scan which revealed she had cancer.

“It was in my lungs, it was my spine, my hips, my lymph nodes,” she said. “It was scary.”

She was at hospital taking part in a pilot for patients with suspected lung cancer which was looking at the effectiveness of a liquid biopsy in these cases.

The blood test confirmed the genetic variant of Ms Proctor’s cancer 10 days before a typical tissue biopsy.

It meant she could be started on the treatment best tailored to her cancer far sooner.

“My oncologist said if I wasn’t started on the treatment I would have had weeks to a month left [to live],” she said.

“I wasn’t ready for that.”

Since starting Brigatinib in January, a drug tailored to the genetic variant of her advanced non-small cell lung cancer, Ms Proctor said she has been able to live a normal life again even though she still had a terminal diagnosis.

She said she started feeling better about a week or so after taking the medication which she continues to take.

“It’s given me my life back which I hadn’t had for months,” she said.

She has four children, including a three and six-year-old.

“My health’s back and I can do all the things I can do with the kids now,” she said.

“It sounds silly but I know I’m terminal but I don’t feel ill.”

NHS England announced last month that following the liquid biopsy pilot, the blood tests had been rolled out across the country for suspected lung cancer and advanced breast cancer patients.

It said it would help reduce the time taken for people to access targeted therapies and reduce unnecessary treatment such as standard chemotherapy.