The melanoma popped up as a tiny multicoloured mark on my right forearm in 2011. I had an immediate biopsy. In 2020, I found a lump under my arm. The cancer had metastasized into lymph nodes. I had surgery a week later.

Fourteen months later, after another CT scan, it had officially become a Stage 4 disease with tumours on my liver. I carried on working full time. I had mistletoe therapy. I had an immunotherapy drug for half a year but the tumours just grew.

The oncology team suggested a clinical trial of another immuno drug and two chemo pills each night. A barrage of side effects became the norm but I was grateful for the drug trial.

I use my juicer for a big glass of fruit and vegetables every morning. Vomiting usually happened later in the day. I cut down on processed food, sugar, dairy and meat. I haven’t drunk alcohol for about seven years. The last CT scan showed the tumours are still growing.

Hope

I heard about a cell-based, personalised immunotherapy treatment where a cancer vaccine is made from my own blood.

In Dr Thomas Neßelhut’s lab in Duderstadt, Germany, my cells will be extracted, trained and multiplied to identify my specific cancer to my immune system. Life expectancy from conventional treatments for metastatic melanoma is an average of five years. Dr Neßelhut stated that all of his melanoma patients are still alive. I don't want to die soon from cancer!

It is a tailored treatment based on the condition of each individual’s situation and, unfortunately, is not yet available in the UK. It is very effective for melanoma and prostate cancers, in particular.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6174277/