Grandad 'gets life back' after revolutionary cancer treatment in Southampton
Peter Garland thought he had run out of options to beat his cancer
A motorbike enthusiast who thought he had run out of options to beat his cancer has told how he has got his life back after receiving a revolutionary treatment in Southampton.
Peter Garland was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy, but after a brief period in remission was told his cancer had returned.
But the dad-of-two is now enjoying life to the max and celebrating being cancer-free after becoming the first patient to receive CAR T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy.
CAR T is a highly complex treatment being offered at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) – the first hospital trust in the south east to offer the treatment.
It’s a form of cellular therapy which involves collecting and using the patients’ own modified immune cells to treat their condition.
For patients like 71-year-old Peter, it’s given him his life back.
He said: "I had reached the point where chemotherapy just wasn’t cutting it and my cancer had returned.
"There wasn’t another option. I was told that if I was suitable, having this treatment would give me the best chance of ensuring the lymphoma didn’t return.
"I feel incredibly lucky to have been offered this treatment and to have come through it so well.
"It has already given me another year and I have been able to get back on with my life and that’s amazing.
"It’s now up to me to ensure I take good care of myself, out of respect for all that has been done for me if nothing else."
CAR T cell therapy has been proved to be effective for some blood cancers.
It takes time to plan and deliver and involves a patient being in isolation for several weeks. While it could be offered to Peter, not all patients are suitable.
The process involves cells being harvested from a patient and then reprogrammed before being infused back into the patient so they can target their cancer.
While it comes with risks and will not cure all recipients, it offers real hope to patients - even those with quite advanced cancers and where other available treatments have failed.
Sara Main, lead nurse, Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy, said: "Adding CAR T cell therapy to the repertoire of treatments we can offer patients at UHS is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work and dedication.
"It takes ongoing vision and commitment of the doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals together with our quality team to deliver these treatments safely and effectively.
"It also requires collaboration with many other departments within - and other organisations outside - the hospital.
"We want to not only be able to give all the treatments that are available to patients that may benefit them but to think ahead to our patients and families of the future, as there will be more people who may be helped by this and other types of cellular therapy."