The husband and wife who overcame the same type of cancer — and the University of Leeds research that changed their lives
A husband and wife who both faced the same life-threatening cancer diagnosis have shared their experiences of the life-changing impact of cancer research at the University of Leeds.
This World Cancer Day, the University is celebrating the first anniversary of the Leeds Cancer Research Centre, which brings together cancer experts working across disciplines to improve health outcomes and change people’s lives.
The vision of Leeds Cancer Research Centre (LCRC) is to bring together scientists and clinicians across disciplines to transform the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer; tackle cancer-related health inequalities, support the next generation of early career researchers and improve patient outcomes in Leeds, Yorkshire and across the globe.
University of Leeds’ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Simone Buitendijk said: “Cancer research at the University of Leeds is focused on addressing health inequalities and is producing some incredibly exciting results with real impact.
“On World Cancer Day, we celebrate the advancements we have made in cancer research here at Leeds, which are helping to shape a better future for humanity.”
And one ongoing bowel cancer trial has already had life changing implications for husband and wife Judy Hatton and Trevor Thewlis, from Cookridge in Leeds.
Judy, 76, is now cancer free and thanks to the new treatment approach does not face the same significant side effects Trevor lives with.
Judy was diagnosed in 2019, 13 years after her husband Trevor was treated for the very same cancer.
Trevor, 82, had standard treatment: chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed by surgery. This left him with a permanent ileostomy — where the small intestine is diverted through an opening in the abdomen — and a stoma bag, which collects waste.
But under the STAR-TREC trial, Judy was able to avoid surgery altogether, instead having a five-week outpatient course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy tablets, which eradicated her tumour.
The STAR-TREC trial
STAR-TREC is an international trial funded by Cancer Research UK, and jointly led by Professor David Sebag-Montefiore at the University of Leeds — who treated Trevor’s cancer 16 years ago — and Mr Simon Bach at the University of Birmingham.
It is coordinated by the Birmingham CRUK Clinical Trial Unit. It recruits patients in the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark and is due to open shortly in Sweden and Belgium.
The radiotherapy technique used in the STAR-TREC trials was developed by the Leeds Radiotherapy Research Group, which was established with funding provided by Leeds Hospital Charity.
The trial is part of research to find an effective outpatient radiotherapy treatment for early stage bowel cancer that allows patients to avoid surgery and the need for a colostomy.
The couple are now free from cancer, but the impact of the disease on each of their daily lives could not be more different. Judy has no long-term side effects, but Trevor must change his ileostomy bag every three hours, throughout the day and night.
Judy said: “People including health professionals said, ‘just get the tumour out’. But because I’d seen what Trevor had to go through, and still goes through — although he copes with it admirably — with the life-changing situation of having a stoma, it was a no-brainer for me to go with the trial. If it hadn’t worked there was still the option of surgery, which would only have been a few weeks later.
“I was examined in September 2019 and the tumour had gone, so I didn’t need surgery and my life hasn’t changed in the radical way that Trevor’s changed in 2006.
“I liked the idea of the trial because you are so closely monitored. You really are looked after because they want the results, and they need to record the results. So it just seemed the obvious thing to do.
“I am very grateful for the advances in medical science and in radiotherapy. I am grateful for the very existence of trials like this that continue to improve people’s outcomes and people’s lives.”
‘We’re both here, and that’s great’
Trevor said: “The stoma is a bag — like a hoover bag — attached to my stomach which collects my waste. I have to empty it every three hours, day and night. It means I am up at least twice during the night. If people ask me about it and I tell them they sit there with their mouths open, but it’s just my life now.
“The last 10 to 14 years have been based around that so there’s evidence every day of all the problems Judy has avoided. I’ve just got used to it, I live with it, and I decided early on that I was alive and this was part of the deal. It’s only in the last couple of years that it’s become a bit of a bind.
“It’s not ideal — I’d rather be like Judy — but all told we’re both here and that’s great.”
The couple were treated in the Leeds Cancer Centre in St James’s Hospital, part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Some 50 patients a day are diagnosed with cancer in Leeds hospitals, highlighting the importance of new treatment discoveries through clinical trials such as STAR-TREC.
‘Leeds is leading the way’
David Sebag-Montefiore, Professor of Clinical Oncology in the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine and Director of the Leeds Cancer Research Centre, said: “It was incredible to learn that I’d treated Judy’s husband Trevor years ago — and it is wonderful that we have been able to help both Judy and Trevor overcome their cancer.
“Leeds is leading the way in trying to find an effective outpatient radiotherapy treatment for early-stage bowel cancer that allows patients to avoid the short and long-term side effects of surgery and the need for a temporary or permanent colostomy.
“This smarter, kinder treatment will help tackle health inequalities by providing an effective treatment for patients who are frail or have multiple medical conditions, which is more commonly found in our more deprived neighbourhoods.”
Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said: “At Leeds Teaching Hospitals, research is a crucial part of what we do. Last year over 13,000 of our patients joined research studies across our organisation and we want all of our patients to be able to take part in research.
“We are fortunate to have world class universities on our doorstep, and we regularly collaborate with the University of Leeds on ground-breaking research trials like this one.
“What once seemed impossible in cancer research and care has now become a reality thanks to a number of technological innovations that have led to breakthroughs in the ways we find, visualise, understand, and treat cancer.
“Through the work of our dedicated teams at the Leeds Cancer Centre, our state-of-the-art Clinical Research Facility and world-renowned Biomedical Research Centre (both funded by the National Institute of Health Research) we can continue to explore and use these technologies.
“Our goal is to accelerate progress against this disease so that all patients can have a successful outcome like Judy.”
Celebrating the first year of the Leeds Cancer Research Centre
The Leeds Cancer Research Centre officially launched one year ago today and is a University of Leeds partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Centre brings together experts from across a range of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and clinical sciences; clinical practice and innovative health interventions, to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing cancer research today.
In its first year, the Centre has already made several significant advances in the fight against cancer, including:
- A £7 million collaborative research project into secondary bone tumours of the spine , which sees patients fitted with a tailor-made implant to protect them from fractures
- Developing a magnetic tentacle robot which can reach most areas of the lungs, improving detection and treatment of lung cancer
- Opening a new trial into prostate cancer to prevent it from coming back after treatment
- Investigating the impact of genetics and cancer with the aim of developing personalised treatments for leukaemia, glioma and glioblastoma multiforme.
Cancer research at Leeds
- The Leeds Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Radiotherapy Centre of Excellence (RadNet Leeds) combines artificial intelligence, magnetic resonance imaging and new drugs with radiotherapy to target pelvic, liver and brain cancers. It is part of a national RadNet network.
- The Leeds CRUK Clinical Trial Unit performs groundbreaking work to identify better and less toxic treatments for patients with blood cancers and treatments involving radiotherapy.
- The Leeds Radiotherapy Research group is supported by funding from the Leeds Hospitals Charity and developed the radiotherapy technique used in the STAR-TREC trial.
- Scientists in the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology use structural and imaging approaches to understand the molecular and cellular basis of cancer and to discover new routes towards future therapies and diagnostics.
- Researchers in the Science and Technologies Of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) laboratory are developing a new generation of intelligent robotic endoscopic instruments to enable earlier diagnosis, wider use of screening and more effective treatment for cancer.
For more information about Leeds Cancer Research Centre, email LCRC Research & Innovation Development Manager Dr Danielle Battle, at d.battle@leeds.ac.uk.
