A veteran RAF aircraft engineer from Derbyshire has had his life saved by a pioneering cancer treatment developed through research which closely involved Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Tim Swinburn, who served in the Armed Forces for 30 years, repairing the engines of fighter jets such as the Tornado and Phantom F-4, is among the first patients in the UK to benefit from a new combination treatment which helped him recover from a type of aggressive blood cancer.
Tim’s haematology consultant, Professor Chris Fox, was the UK lead in the research programme which developed the ‘STARGLO’ combination of treatments to tackle diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The ‘STARGLO’ treatment – named after some of the drugs used – now has NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) approval for use in NHS hospitals.
Tim, who lives in Codnor Park and is both a father and grandfather, explained that Professor Fox and the STARGLO treatment had saved his life, and he now feels able to look forward to celebrating his 60th birthday next year.
He said: “I owe Professor Fox and his team my life. The therapy I was prescribed worked almost instantly when I was seriously running out of options. The team at NUH are so supportive, and the nurses have been brilliant.
“I am 59 and am looking forward to seeing my 60th birthday next year. I was running out of options with my lymphoma last year; now, the treatment I am receiving from the team at City Hospital has changed that. I feel great.
“I would advise other people who also receive a similar cancer diagnosis to keep their chins up. New treatments are being developed, and there is hope.”
Professor Fox, co-author of a paper in The Lancet on the STARGLO trial, said:
“This shows the impact of medical research in which Nottingham has been heavily involved, transforming patients’ lives with new and effective therapies when other treatment options are limited.
“We are delighted that Mr Swinburn is one of the first patients who has benefited from this new lymphoma treatment regimen. This combination of drugs, delivered together via infusions as a day patient, is giving patients and their families new hope.
“The treatment regimen has proven very effective for Mr Swinburn, allowing him to return to doing the things that matter the most to him, such as riding motorbikes.”
He added: “No treatment regimen for lymphoma is ever universally effective; we need to retain our focus on developing new therapies for patients who need them. We are enthusiastically continuing our research into novel combinations of drugs involving bispecific antibodies that we hope will lead to a greater number of patients being cured of their lymphoma, whilst aiming to minimise side effects where possible.”
