Advanced Skin Cancer Patient 'Still Standing' 14 Years After Immunotherapy Trial
核心洞察
Adrian Webb, diagnosed in 2012 with advanced skin cancer (搜索) that spread to his lungs, liver, spleen, bowel, lymph nodes and spine, was given just months to live.
After joining a clinical trial involving new immunotherapy (搜索) drugs, scans showed his cancer regressing and later tests found no further trace of the disease.
Fourteen years after diagnosis, the 61-year-old is in remission and celebrating becoming a grandfather to six-month-old grandson Teddy.
Adrian Webb, a 61-year-old from Wombourne, is marking 14 years since a diagnosis of advanced skin cancer (搜索) that doctors said gave him just months to live. His cancer had spread to his lungs, liver, spleen, bowel, lymph nodes and spine, and he was told there was little to no hope of a full recovery. Today, he is in remission and celebrating becoming a grandfather to six-month-old grandson Teddy, having taken early retirement to help care for him.
Webb was first diagnosed in 2012 after his wife Michele noticed a mole on his back had changed colour. He received surgery and radiotherapy, but by 2013 the cancer had spread. "I remember saying to the consultant, 'you're not going to leave me to die are you?' He asked if I'd be willing to join a trial and I jumped at the chance," Webb said.
After months of treatment involving new immunotherapy (搜索) drugs, accompanied by side effects such as fevers and aching joints, scans eventually showed the cancer was regressing. Later tests showed no further trace of the disease. "It's a bit like a miracle that I'm here now," Webb said. "It's all thanks to advances in research so I'm grateful for every moment I've been given."
Webb's son Josh has recreated an emotional video he first made in 2015 to mark the milestone. In the original video, Josh held up cards suggesting his father had not reached his 50th birthday, before Adrian walked into shot holding a sign reading "I'm still standing." The new video follows the same format, ending with Adrian holding baby Teddy and a card reading "I'm still standing - and I'm a Grandad!"
"When I was told my cancer was incurable, I cried like a baby, but then I picked myself up and focused on all the milestones I wasn't prepared to miss," Webb said. "The first ones were reaching my 50th birthday and seeing my daughter Amelia graduate. Then I got to be best man at Josh's wedding which was amazing. I honestly never dreamed I'd come this far - becoming a grandparent was way beyond my expectations so, to look at Teddy now and know that he's a part of me is just incredible."
Josh shared the film after his father was invited to start Birmingham's 10k Shine Night Walk in Centenary Square on 4 September, where more than 1,500 fundraisers will light up the city's streets to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
Webb emphasised the importance of continued research funding. "Not everyone is as lucky as me though. Around 34,600 people are diagnosed with cancer in the West Midlands every year, so we have to keep backing the scientists finding new and more effective ways to beat it," he said. "I know first-hand just how much hope they can bring."