‘Good news’: Vicky Phelan says newest cancer treatment is helping
The cervical cancer campaigner and patient advocate has been told by doctors in the US that her first scan since starting her new treatment is holding her disease at bay.
by Jennifer McShane
28th Mar 2021
28th Mar 2021
Vicky Phelan had the support of a nation behind her when she headed to Maryland in the hopes that a new drug – Pembrolizumab, which she is being treated with during a US trial of the drug M7824 – in the hopes that it will give her a better quality of life and more time with her children and family.
Phelan was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer in 2014, after a 2011 smear failed to detect any abnormalities. She was one of the first to take a case against the State and brought the controversy into the public eye.
In November, she shared that her cancer was growing again. Rather than opt for palliative care in Ireland, she decided to move to the US alone for a months-long clinical trial that could potentially slow the growth of her tumours.
This week she revealed on social media that treatment so far, was going very well. She said she had no new tumours, three cancerous tumours had shrunk slightly and one had increased minimally.
“In good news, results from my CT scan show no new tumours and while there was a slight increase in one tumour, there were mild decreases in three other tumours so it all balances itself out. The overall impression by the radiologist in my report was there is no significant change to my disease status.”
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It looks like my body is finally beginning to adjust to the meds and that we have landed on a combination of anti-sickness meds that is working for me
“That is all good at this stage of the disease. Stability is good particularly when I have only been able to have half the dose I should be on. Once I get to a point in the next few weeks where I am on the full dose, I fully believe that I will start seeing tumours shrink. So, it is onwards and upwards from here….”
“Thank you all for your continued support. It really means a lot to me, and to my family.”
She also revealed she will moving, to be closer to the friends she has made in Virginia. As her treatment progresses, she will be in the US for the next number of months.
She continues to be a beacon of strength and hope to so many and we wish her well during every step of her treatment.