Granddad reveals how he is free from aggressive cancer WITHOUT chemo

Granddad whose cancer had spread ‘all over his body’ reveals he’s now free from the disease WITHOUT having chemotherapy

• Stephen Cossins, 71, from Amersham, received devastating diagnosis in 2016 
• READ MORE: Mum whose baby son is battling a rare brain cancer reveals the one symptom that sparked her concern

A grandfather whose cancer had spread ‘all over his body’ has revealed he’s now free from the disease without having any chemotherapy. 

Stephen Cossins, 71, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in 2016.

This form of cancer – which 3,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with every year – affects the blood and bone marrow. 

Instead of opting for standard chemotherapy, Stephen decided to take part in an experimental clinical trial to test drugs that block the growth of the cancer.

After taking Ibrutinib three times day for three months, Stephen then began having Venetoclax too.

Stephen, pictured with his wife, wants to encourage other people to take party in research studies 

Back in 2016, Stephen said his diagnosis ‘came as a complete shock’.

He said: ‘I had no symptoms and I’ve always been a very well person. I hadn’t had a day off work sick in over 20 years.

‘You always think the C word happens to other people. When they told me, I thought ‘that’s it then’.

‘You feel so much inevitability about the whole thing.’

Looking back on the day he was diagnosed, Stephen continued: ‘My children were distraught when I told them and my wife was hit harder by the news that I was. She was devastated.’

The father, who has three grandchildren aged eight, seven and four, said of them: ‘I couldn’t tell them the news. They were just too young and I didn’t want them to worry.’

In 2019, his cancer began to spread aggressively. At its worst, he began to lose weight, and felt extremely tired and lethargic.

In November 2019, Mr Cossins was invited by a consultant to take part in the FLAIR trial into drugs.

‘Initially I didn’t think that taking part in the trial was for me,’ he said.

Stephen Cossins, 71, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), a rare type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Three years later, and after enrolling in a clinical trial, he says he is free of the disease 

‘I thought that I would prefer to have chemotherapy because it’s the standard treatment. I thought ‘do I really want to be a guinea pig for new drugs?’

‘But after the consultant and nurses explained that by taking these drugs as part of the trial, there was a possibility of being completely cancer free in two years, I thought it was worth a shot. I had to roll the dice.

‘I’ve now got more time to spend with my grandkids, my family and my wife.

‘We’ve been married for 46 years. I think we’ll celebrate being cancer-free properly with a short break in Devon or Cornwall.’

This new digital ‘match-making’ service helps people to find and take part in health and care research across the UK. 

Patients can register their interest via the Be Part of Research website or via the NHS App if they live in England, and they can choose which health conditions they are interested in, such as diabetes, cancer and back pain, or sign up as a healthy volunteer.

People can also choose what type of research they want to do, such as drug trials, scans, focus groups or filling in online questionnaires.

The grandfather-of-three admitted his family, pictured, was devastated by his 2016 cancer diagnosis 

Stephen said: ‘It was the best thing I ever did. I entered the trial three years ago and was cured, cancer free, after two years. It’s amazing.

‘My wife and children are all delighted. I don’t think any of us believed this day would come. It’s wonderful but I’m so relieved it’s over.

‘I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve been successful on the trial but I hope it can help other people going through the same thing.

‘If anyone is ever invited to take part in a research study, I’d say put your faith and trust in the nurses and doctors. They know what they are doing.

‘You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. And you could save the lives of people living with cancer in the future.’

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which helped fund the study Stephen took part in, has launched a Shape the Future campaign to urge people to join health research.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: the rare form of cancer that traps sufferers in a slow death

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is a rare form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. 

The condition, which develops slowly, is thought to be incurable and becomes more common as people age – with few sufferers under the age of 40.

The causes of the conditions are unclear, although a history of this type of cancer in the family puts some at a higher risk. 

Many people who live with lymphocytic leukaemia don’t have any symptoms, and if they do, they are not obvious straightaway and can take years to masnifest themselves. 

Many of these symptoms are also common to other conditions. 

They include: 

• Swollen glands, usually in your neck or under your arms
• Losing weight
• Getting ill a lot
• Feeling tired even though you’ve had a good night’s sleep
• A rash that looks like small bruises or bleeding under the skin and does not fade when you roll a glass over it, similar to meningitis
• Bleeding or bruising for no reason
• Looking unusually pale and feeling breathless
• A high temperature even though you’re not unwell
• Aches and pains that will not go away
• Sweating at night

The condition may not require immediate treatment in some cases, and courses of treatment depends on the sufferers’ age, general health and symptoms. 

Main treatments involved targeted medicine to stop the cancer for growing or to manage symptoms or chemotherapy.

In rare cases, surgery and radiotherapy can also be advised. 

 

It runs the Be Part of Research service, which has attracted more than 150,000 people to date.

NIHR chief executive and chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health, Professor Lucy Chappell, said: ‘The NIHR funds and supports research that aims to make a difference to patients across the country – and even further afield.

‘Our research covers all areas from the laboratory right through to the clinic. It leads to new treatments that benefit us in so many different ways, across so many different areas of health and care.

‘Patients and the wider public are vital to this research – it is you who help researchers find the cures, treatments and breakthroughs that can help us, our friends and families to live the best and healthiest lives possible.’

Health minister, Will Quince, said: ‘The volunteers who are taking part in promising research – including one who was cured of cancer – are helping researchers find medical breakthroughs and ultimately helping the NHS to save lives.’

‘NIHR’s research studies can lead to billions of pounds in savings for the NHS and cut waiting lists through faster diagnosis and enhanced treatment – but it can’t take place without volunteers, so I encourage anyone eligible to sign up.’

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