Sue was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was given a hysterectomy after being treated for cancer.
Within one year, her cancer came back. He said that he carries a variant of the genes that make him susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. It runs in the family. We assumed my mother died of cancer as well.
Doctors used a new weapon in their armory. Many of the research carried out in the UK has led to the development of a range of drugs. I was put on a daily regimen of a brand of Parp inhibitor pills known as olaparib after receiving more cancer treatment. I have been free of cancer ever since.
Her tale is not unique. Increasing use of Parp inhibitors has raised hopes that many people who are susceptible to certain types of cancer can be treated effectively in the future. One day it could be possible to use Parp inhibitors to prevent cancer from developing in the first place.
Parp inhibitors could be used as a preventive medicine to stop certain tumours from appearing. The fight against cancer will move on to a new footing.
Parp is an acronym for poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase and it is found in all of our cells. An anti-tumour treatment that stops a cancer cell's own Parpidase from doing its repair work is called a Parp inhibitor.
Chemicals that could disrupt the process of cell repair were discovered as a result of unraveling the way the Parp is used. This was the result of decades of basic research work in biology laboratories in the UK.
Cancer Research UK was formed out of an amalgamation of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign. The organisation has helped fund research in the field.
Prof Steve Jackson, a cancer expert at Cambridge University, said that they have learned how to destroy tumours. His team of researchers were supported by CRUK funding.
The existence of two genes, Breast Cancer 1 and Breast Cancer 2, which have different versions that increase a carrier's risk of getting a number of cancers, was discovered in the US and the UK. They can be passed on from one parent to the next.
Tens of thousands of people in the UK are carriers of the bad version of the genes. The possibility of protection against cancer risks that they have inherited is offered by the development of Parp inhibitor.
Patients who were in the late stages of their cancer were the ones who were given Parp inhibitors. They didn't have anything to lose. We were not sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.
Parp drugs are being given earlier and earlier to cancer patients. A lot of these patients are still alive. A woman who was in late-stage cancer started taking a Parp inhibitor nearly nine years ago and is symptom-free.
It is this progression to earlier administration of the drug that is encouraging scientists to consider the use of Parp inhibitors. The drugs would be given to people who were affected by the genes.
There could be a lot of benefits. Mastectomies and hysterectomies can be done to prevent the start of breast or ovarian cancer in women from affected families. It's possible to prevent the need for such operations if you take Parp inhibitors regularly.
There are side effects involved in taking these drugs and it is now a matter of ongoing research to work out how we might balance the risk of those side effects with the potential benefit of preventing tumours in the first place. The research question is being addressed.
Sue Hayward said she felt tired after taking the drug. I am used to it. I feel fortunate that I have access to a medicine like this.
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