Cancer Research: Survivor mum calls on next government to fund more speedy tests and treatments

Charlotte Ralph, 42, from Fleet in Hampshire, is backing Cancer Research UK’s calls to bring tests, treatments and innovations to patients more quickly after she benefitted from a new immunotherapy treatment that wasn’t recommended for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, when she needed it most. 

After family contributed thousands of pounds to purchase the drug, nivolumab, she became stable enough to receive a stem cell transplant and was eventually declared cancer free. 

Now she wants to see all cancer patients being given access to the best drugs for their disease including personalised treatments, making the most of advances in technology and our understanding of cancer. 

Charlotte said: “When all other treatments have failed and you have a young family that needs you, there’s nothing worse than knowing that there’s a new drug that has a good chance of working but you’re not able to access it. I was dying and I wouldn’t be here today without that new drug. It was the key to my recovery and I hope in future people get the most appropriate treatments as soon as they can.” 

Charlotte, who gave birth to a healthy baby girl despite receiving chemotherapy treatment during her pregnancy, is backing Cancer Research UK’s ‘Turning Point for Cancer’ campaign and says tackling the disease must be a top election priority for all political parties.  

She’s urging people to call on their local parliamentary candidates to commit to transforming cancer survival by emailing them now at cruk.org/localcandidates. 

Her call comes as new analysis from the charity reveals around 2.2 million people in the UK are projected to be diagnosed with the disease in the next five years. 

Cancer Research UK’s calculations reveal the next government could help prevent around 6,000 UK cancer deaths within five years. With sustained progress, this could rise to around 34,000 deaths avoided in a decade. That’s if a long-term, fully-funded cancer strategy is rapidly rolled out after the election along with measures to support research and better prevent, diagnose and treat the disease and help close the more than £1bn funding gap for research into cancer over the next decade. 

The charity wants health systems to support translation of research and adopt proven innovations quickly so that everyone across the UK has access to the best care.  It’s essential that we get better at not only treating cancer more effectively, but ensuring new treatments are kinder, with less severe side effects, sustaining a person’s quality of life after treatment. 

Charlotte said: “My baby was three by the time I beat my cancer and I’d spent half her life in hospital. I wonder if I’d had access to nivolumab earlier in my treatment I could have had fewer side effects. I could have lived a much more normal life without burdening the NHS with all the other problems I faced and with the chronic life-long problems I now have after the numerous chemotherapies I endured.” 

Despite the long-term side effects Charlotte now faces, she feels she’s one of the lucky ones and treasures simple things like being able to do the school run and watch her children at sports day. She’s just returned from her first family holiday abroad – an experience she feared she would never have a few years ago. 

Charlotte said: “It all began when I found a lump in my neck which had started to hurt. I was hoping it would be a cyst but I showed my GP who I was seeing about a rash that I also had at the time, and he referred me for an urgent scan. 

“I was told I needed a biopsy to check for lymphoma and on the day of my appointment, I realised my period was late so took a pregnancy test and I was surprised to see it was positive. 

“I couldn’t feel excited about it as I was about to have my biopsy and it all felt very complicated. The staff at Frimley Hospital were all excitedly making a fuss of me when I explained I’d just found out I was pregnant, but it didn’t feel like great news when I was waiting to find out if I had cancer. 

“When they told me I had Hodgkin lymphoma, it was the most shocking thing to hear. In my mind, I knew that’s what it was, but to have it confirmed was totally surreal. 

“My doctors were comfortable that I could wait to start chemotherapy until I’d reached my second trimester when it’s safe for the baby, but knowing I had cancer and couldn’t yet treat it was a tricky period. I’m not sure anyone has ever been as excited as me to start chemo.  

“I received a combination of treatment called ABVD and thankfully, I didn’t experience any major side effects but I was nervous about the fact I could feel the lumps and bumps going up and down and worried that it wasn’t working. Because I was pregnant, I couldn’t have a proper scan to see if I was responding. 

“Due to an issue with my liver, at 37 weeks they decided to induce me and I was able to have a natural birth and Kezia was born healthy. Unfortunately, we discovered that I wasn’t and the cancer was on the rampage. What should have been such a happy time was one of the hardest. I was exhausted and the weight of responsibility of being the patient that everyone was worried about, was tough. 

“I had my last chemo but the scan that followed showed what I already knew. The treatment wasn’t working and I was feeling very unwell. Family and friends helped with the baby and our three-year-old son, Ben, while I was in limbo, needing a stem cell transplant to get me into remission. I was incredibly lucky that I found a donor who was a perfect match. It was a much-needed ray of light at a difficult time. We needed to control the cancer first though, so I began another treatment combination called ESHAP which I received as an inpatient. 

“The side effects were much more obvious this time, but this treatment also failed. Over the next six months, I tried another three types of chemotherapy but we still couldn’t control the cancer. 

“The disease was widespread and the cancer cells were diffuse and spread out so radiotherapy wasn’t the best option, but there weren’t many options left so I was sent to University Hospital Southampton to try that. The treatment was really tough and left me unable to talk or eat for weeks but it worked and gave me a window for my transplant.  

“Unfortunately, I then contracted pneumonia and on my scans, it looked very much like Hodgkin lymphoma. While they waited to clarify what it was, my cancer began to appear in other places and the transplant was on hold again. 

“It was blow after blow after blow for a long time but, my consultant at Southampton, told me about a new immunotherapy treatment that was showing some success in people like me. 

“The issue was that it wasn’t recommended on the NHS as a salvage treatment for people with Hodgkin Lymphoma who were awaiting a stem cell transplant and I would have to pay for it. 

“It was our only hope and my parents, in-laws, aunts, uncles and other relatives all helped us fund it at a cost of around £1,500 per treatment. After the first treatment I had a strong reaction which we thought was a tumour response. Even though I was struggling with pain, it felt like something was working at last. 

“A couple of months on, the side effects were much better and the cancer was under control enough to go ahead with the transplant. My donor had been so patient and six years ago this month, I went into hospital for nine weeks feeling hopeful that the transplant would be my fresh start. I couldn’t see the children for a long time and knew things would be worse before they got better but I was eventually discharged from hospital in August 2018 ready to start life again. But the cancer had other ideas and began to reappear.

“Once again, our only chance of beating it was to try more of the immunotherapy, nivolumab, while my new immune system finished developing properly. The drug is licensed post-transplant so I had no issues accessing it.

“But it came with a risk of something called Graft vs Host Disease in which some white blood cells in your donated stem cells attack your own body cells. It was either that, or the cancer would see me off.  

“You have to go with a positive mindset and hang on to the shreds of hope and thankfully the nivolumab did the job once again. However, a few months later, I developed severe colitis and spent another six weeks in hospital. When the cancer returned in 2019, I received more nivolumab which worked again and I finally thought that was it and that 2020 would be ok. 

“But in the January, I developed a severe fungal pneumonia and possibly Covid-19 and was on life-support in ICU for seven weeks. My family were told to prepare for the worst and that I was unlikely to make it. 

“I eventually came out of my coma unable to walk and talk but in terms of the cancer, everything looked good. I wasn’t getting all the lumps and bumps or other symptoms I’d had previously so as I worked with my physio and stayed with my parents during lockdown, I got stronger and stronger and felt if I could make it through my time on life-support, cancer was not going to get me.  

“It was hard being away from the children and we did lots of Facetimes, but I needed that time to recover. They were the best distraction during my illness and the best reason to get better. Now my children are 10 and 7 and apart from some long-term side effects of my treatments, life is fairly normal. 

“When I look back on my story, I can’t actually believe I’m here today. But my key to recovery was being able to get my hands on a new drug.”  

The Cancer Research UK supported ANIMATE clinical trial offered nivolumab to patients whose salvage treatment hadn’t worked well enough for them to have a stem cell transplant. It’s currently not approved by NICE for use pre-transplant. Clinical research plays a critical role in translating scientific discoveries into safer, kinder and more effective cancer diagnostics and treatments. Through clinical trials, current patients may be able to access the latest drugs and technologies while their suitability for future use in the health service is determined. 

Charlotte said: “Success stories like mine would not be possible without advances in research and treatment. So, it’s distressing to think how many friends, family and colleagues could be affected by the fall-out if we don’t speed up progress in the fight against the disease.   “With so many challenges and funding issues surrounding cancer research and care, it’s vital that saving lives comes before politics. When you hear those terrible words, ‘It’s cancer’, all you want to know is that you – or your loved one – has the best possible chance of surviving. This election, the next UK government must help make this a reality for cancer patients everywhere.”    

Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Charlotte's home town of Fleet, Elisa Mitchell, said: “Nearly 1 in 2 people will get cancer in their lifetime. It affects every family, in every constituency. So, as political parties reach out to the country, there’s never been a better opportunity to come together and demand the action people affected by cancer so desperately need and deserve. The general election must be a turning point for cancer. 

“We’re grateful to Charlotte for joining the groundswell of supporters, scientists and stars who are backing our campaign and hope Charlotte’s story will inspire people to have their say by emailing their local candidates.   

 “The entire cancer community is calling for the next UK government to introduce a bold and long-term plan to prevent future cancers and improve survival. Urgent action to tackle cancer will mean more life-saving research, more people diagnosed and treated earlier, and ultimately, more people in the region living longer, better lives.”