Latest news with #headandneckcancer
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Program that helps cancer patients stop smoking available at LHSC
From left: Jennifer Murray (Nurse Practitioner, Cancer Care), Catherine Bond-Mills (Pharmacist, Pharmacy – Oncology and Renal), and Spencer Martin (Manager, Pharmacy – Oncology and Renal) in the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) is a program offered by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) which helps patients stop smoking. The program is now being offered in London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) to patients with head and neck cancers - although they already have a positive cancer diagnosis, it's important for those patients to quit smoking as it can improve outcomes. '[Smoking cessation] should be a high-priority intervention. We know it can take numerous attempts at quitting before patients can break the habit, and we also know that nicotine replacement therapy can double the chances of someone quitting successfully,' explained Jennifer Murray, Nurse Practitioner, Cancer Care at LHSC. 'Follow-up is critical in supporting patients in their goals given the chronic and relapsing patterns of tobacco addiction. With the STOP program, patients can now be connected to counselling surrounding their nicotine use and access nicotine replacement products.' Head and neck cancers include mouth, throat and voice box, but does not include brain, esophageal or lung cancers. Murray supports patients at LHSC's Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre, and will identify patients that are smoking and interested in quitting. The program includes the provision of nicotine replacement therapy like patches, gum or losenges, as well as counselling - providing up to 26 weeks of services free of charge. The program is more than counselling, it requires the support of several healthcare workers, 'Pharmacists play a critical role by offering personalized smoking cessation counselling, assessing patient readiness to quit and helping develop tailored plans to quit,' said Interim Pharmacy Manager Spencer Martin, who cares for patients in oncology and renal medicines at LHSC. 'The STOP program allows us to take a more proactive role in a patient's smoking cessation journey – a critical, but often under addressed aspect of patient care in cancer populations.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Immunotherapy drug doubles cancer survival in breakthrough trial
Hundreds of thousands of people with advanced head and neck cancer could live longer without their cancer returning thanks to an immunotherapy drug, a clinical trial is the first sign of a breakthrough for patients with this difficult-to-treat cancer for 20 years, say scientists behind the Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, says she is "amazed she's still here" after being given "dire" chances of survival following a diagnosis of advanced tongue cancer six years received the immunotherapy before and after surgery, which researchers say helps the body learn to attack the cancer if it returns. Cancers in the head and neck are notoriously difficult to treat and there's been little change in the way patients are treated in two decades. More than half those diagnosed with advanced head and neck cancers die within five was given only a 30% chance of surviving that long after her diagnosis in 2019, after having an ulcer on her tongue which wouldn't go away. The next step was major surgery to remove her tongue, as well as lymph nodes in her neck, and then she had to learn to talk and eat again."I was 39 and I was devastated," she told BBC part of an international study into new ways to treat the cancer, involving experts from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Laura was one of more than 350 patients given the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab before and after surgery to prime the body's Kevin Harrington, who led the trial in the UK, explains: "We give the immune system the chance to have a good look at the tumour to generate anti-tumour immunity and then, after removal of the tumour, we continue to amplify that immune response by giving the drug continually for up to a year."A similar number of patients diagnosed with similar cancers received the usual care offered. They all had advanced head and neck cancers in one area, that had not spread to the rest of the new approach showed positive results. It doubled the length of time patients were cancer free, on average, from around 2.5 years to five three years, patients given pembrolizumab had a 10% lower risk of their cancer returning elsewhere in the body. 'Given me my life back' Six years on, Laura is working full-time and says she's "in a good place and doing really well"."It's been phenomenal for me, because I'm here, able to talk to you."I wasn't expected to come this far," Laura says."My prognosis was quite dire." She had muscle taken from her left arm and placed into her mouth to fill the void left by her tongue. It has been a tough journey."Just having this amazing immunotherapy has given me my life back again." The researchers say the key to their results was giving patients the drug before surgery, which trains the body to hunt down and kill the cancer if it ever comes back. Prof Harrington says immunotherapy "could change the world" for these patients."It significantly decreases the chance of cancer spreading around the body, at which point it's incredibly difficult to treat," he 12,800 new head and neck cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK every year. The approach worked "particularly well" for some patients, but it was "really exciting" to see the treatment benefitting all the patients in the trial, Prof Harrington said. He added that it should now be made available on the NHS, .The study findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual trial, called Keynote, involved 192 hospitals in 24 countries, was led by Washington University Medical School in St Louis and funded by drug company MSD.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Gift of life': experts hail neck and head cancer breakthrough
An immunotherapy drug can ward off head and neck cancers for twice as long as the standard treatment, in the biggest breakthrough in two decades. Pembrolizumab stimulates the immune system to fight cancer, targeting a specific protein that enables the drug to wipe out cancer cells. The drug kept cancer at bay in some patients for an average of five years, compared with 30 months when added to standard of care, a clinical trial found. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world's largest cancer conference. The trial, which involved more than 700 patients across 192 sites in 24 countries, was led by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr Douglas Adkins, the study's co-principal investigator and a professor of oncology, said the results were significant and notable because it was the first time such a drug had generated this effect. Researchers around the world tested the drug in patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced head and neck cancers. Hundreds of thousands of patients are diagnosed with these cancers globally each year. Of 714 patients in the trial, 363 received pembrolizumab followed by standard of care, and 351 received only the current standard of care – surgery to remove their tumour followed by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Standard of care has not changed for these patients in more than 20 years, and more than half are unlikely to survive for five years. The immunotherapy worked particularly well for those with high levels of the immune marker PD-L1, but it increased dramatically the likelihood of patients with all types of head and neck cancers remaining well, without the disease progressing or returning. Kevin Harrington, a professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, led a UK team involved in the trial, which was funded by the pharmaceutical company MSD. 'For patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced head and neck cancer, treatments haven't changed in over two decades,' he said. 'Immunotherapy has been amazingly beneficial for patients with cancer that has come back or spread around the body but, until now, it hasn't been as successful for those presenting for the first time with disease which has spread to nearby areas. 'This research shows that immunotherapy could change the world for these patients – it significantly decreases the chance of cancer spreading around the body, at which point it is incredibly difficult to treat. 'The results of this trial show that pembrolizumab dramatically increases the duration of disease remission for years longer than the current standard treatments. It works particularly well for those with high levels of immune markers, but it's really exciting to see that the treatment improves outcomes for all head and neck cancer patients, regardless of these levels.' Laura Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, joined the trial after she was diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer in 2019. 'I am amazed I am still here six years later,' she said. 'This treatment has given me the gift of life.' Prof Kristian Helin, the chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: 'Immunotherapy continues to deliver … To learn that patients with immunotherapy added to their treatment plan had, on average, double the length of time free from evidence of disease compared to those without it – with some patients still yet to see their cancer return – is wonderful.'
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Cancer stole HALF my smile – I can feel hairs growing inside my mouth after my leg and foot were used to rebuild my face
A WOMAN had her face rebuilt with her leg and foot after she lost half her smile to an aggressive cancer that started in her mouth. Sarah Susak, 48, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer after a "sharp electrical current" zinged through her mouth after giving her husband a peck in 2017. 7 The mum, who had given birth to a daughter a year and a half earlier after gruelling IVF, was told she'd need to have her face and palate taken apart to stop the aggressive cancer from spreading to the rest of her body. Surgeons then used her leg and foot to reconstruct her palate, leaving her with half a smile and hairs growing inside her mouth - but a smile nonetheless. 'When I was told they were going to do open face surgery to remove the tumour, I was told I would lose my eye and my hearing,' the 48-year-old mum-of-one explained. 'I gave them permission to do whatever they needed to save me. I came out with missing teeth as they took half my palate. "They used the skin from my leg to build my new palate - I can feel the leg hairs still growing inside my mouth. 'They used my fibula in my leg to rebuild my jaw and veins from my feet to connect muscles. "It was amazing how many different parts of my body they used to rebuild my face.' Sarah's health battle began in 2017 when she experienced her first and only symptom of head cancer – sparked by her husband, Halan, giving her a kiss. 'He kissed me, and I felt like this really sharp electrical current,' the corporate affairs executive from Sydney, Australia, recalls. 'We were joking, 'We've got chemistry!' But I did think, 'That is weird.'' My TV interview revealed tooth gap - it led to a cancer diagnosis The tingling sensation refused to go away, and after a week, Sarah visited her doctor. She was at first told she had neuralgia, severe facial pain caused by compressed nerves. But when her symptoms failed to improve, Sarah was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist who discovered a large tumour growing inside her mouth. 'I opened my mouth and, immediately, he could see the tumour. I can't believe I never noticed it or even felt it,' she said. 7 7 Sarah had a biopsy and was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma – a rare and aggressive form of head and neck cancer that tends to develop in the salivary glands. She was told there was a high likelihood the cancer would spread to other parts of her body following treatment - meaning her her life could be prolonged with treatment but not saved. A year and a half earlier, Sarah and Halan had welcomed their miracle daughter, Stella, after enduring a gruelling eight rounds of IVF. Sarah feared her daughter would grow up without a mum but refused to accept her bleak prognosis. She decided to undergo surgery to remove the tumour, which took 19 hours and was followed with months of radiotherapy. The treatment caused bone tissue in Sarah's jaw to start dying and she spent five years in and out of ICU and hospital wards, including months isolated away from her family, before doctors confirmed the cancer was finally in remission. Healing after 'chaos' This was not the end of Sarah's ordeal as, seven years later, the cancer returned, emerging as a small lesion inside one of her lungs. The growth was removed via surgery, and Sarah was told she would not need radiotherapy. But Sarah was blindsided once again — this time by a sudden, chilling sensation that swept across her entire body one week after surgery. 'I couldn't feel my fingers or my toes. Every surface I touched felt numb,' she recalled. 'I took myself to the emergency room, but the hospital dismissed me as having a panic attack.' Over five days, Sarah's condition worsened and she had to demand to be seen by a surgeon. 'My eyes were rolling in the back of my head. My husband was in tears, and within four hours, I was completely paralysed from my neck down,' she said. 'I couldn't breathe, so I had intubation, then a tracheotomy, and I was in ICU for many weeks.' 7 Sarah was suffering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) – a rare neurological disorder where the body's immune system turns on the nervous system. The cause of GBS is not fully understood but is believed to be triggered by a viral or bacterial infection. Sarah fell unconscious for four days, was put on life support, and her panicked family were told to prepare for the worst. When she woke up, doctors warned her she would be in hospital for at least a year but remarkably, she was able to leave hospital after two and a half months. She had to learn to walk and even swallow again over the following six months. Sarah found strength and comfort in Vedic meditation, a mantra-based tradition which is thousands of years old. 'Meditation enabled me to deal with the constant ups and downs that I had for all those years of my life after my initial surgery,' Sarah said. 'I had so many issues between the first cancer and the second metastasis including face pain, radio necrosis, infections and major fatigue. "I found that my meditation was really the key enabler for me to be able to deal with all that chaos around me and contribute to my own ability to self-heal.' Alongside her role as a general manager of corporate affairs, Sarah has also launched her own business, Medi Steady Go®, where she teaches others about Vedic meditation. She also wrote a book about her health journey and the fundamentals of the practice in her new book, called YOURU: Find the Guru within You. The cover features Sarah beaming directly at the reader. 'As an author, I thought, 'How can I stand out on a bookshelf?'' she said. 'So I thought, well... I'll just smile.'
