Mother says cancer trial saved her life

A mum says she wouldn’t be alive today without a clinical trial to improve cancer treatment.

Caroline Palmer, 50, was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer called primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). It affects the brain and spinal cord and can be very aggressive.

She was offered a place on a trial called OptiMATe, run by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (CTU). It’s testing a new way of giving treatment that could be easier on the body and help more people survive PCNSL.

OptiMATe is a global study that will involve 300 patients. The UK has already recruited over 50 people, including at University Hospital Southampton.

‘A complete lifeline’

Caroline was the first person to join the trial that is funded by Stand Up To Cancer.

She had been experiencing headaches, tiredness and flashing lights in her vision, which she thought were due to the menopause. But after seeing her optician, she was sent for tests and found out she had a lesion on her brain.

“When I was diagnosed I was really scared because I thought I was going to die, and my first thought was for my son, who was just 10,” she said. “We’d waited a long time to become parents and I just thought, ‘I can’t die, I need to be here for him.’

“But then I was offered the OptiMATe clinical trial and it was a complete lifeline. Now thanks to the people who fundraise for Stand Up To Cancer, I’m here today watching my son grow up. I’m slowly returning to work as a teacher, helping to care for my brother who has early onset dementia, and am feeling grateful every day that I’m alive.”

Improving treatment

Around 30-50% of patients who are offered the standard treatment for PCNSL don’t survive.

Chris Wignall, Clinical trial manager at Southampton CTU, said: “MATRix chemotherapy is made up for four drugs given over five days, over four cycles. It’s very successful at treating the cancer but unfortunately, it’s also quite toxic.

“About two thirds of patients will experience quite severe side effects and in about a third of it may stop them receiving the full dose or prevent them from reaching the stem cell transplant at the end of the treatment.

The OptiMATe trial is looking at whether giving a gentler version of the treatment at the start and fewer cycles overall can help more people complete it and recover.

Road to remission

Caroline first noticed symptoms back in February 2023.

After her first round of treatment, scans showed the tumour had shrunk significantly. She went through three rounds in total, followed by a stem cell transplant.

“I had to take everything one day at a time, but when I finally heard the words that I was in remission, the difficult days no longer mattered,” she said. “I knew the treatment was going to be hard and it was, but it was worth it because I’m here today.

“Now I’m building up my physical strength and will be taking part in Stand Up To Cancer’s Sweat Every Day in November Challenge. I want to help raise funds for improved treatments and clinical trials.

“Supporting challenges like this is so important because without this funding and the OptiMATe trial, my life and that of my family would be completely different.”