More cancer-related stories

The family of a seven-year-old girl who was given just a 40 per cent chance of survival say clinical trials helped save her life.

And they are now backing a national Cancer Research UK campaign highlighting the importance of the trials.

Isabella Lyttle, from Shelfield, Walsall, took part in an immunotherapy trial to help her fight a rare type of cancer known as neuroblastoma when she was just three.

Isabellas parents, Mark and Jennie, want people to see clinical trials as a normal and essential part of research and treatment for cancer.

The trials show whether new tests and treatments are safe, what their side-effects are and whether they are better than what is currently used.

Mark said: We know from personal experience that clinical trials are vital, both to people like Isabella who received treatment and to future generations.

Today, more and more people are surviving thanks to research, and cancer trials are crucial in helping to develop better and kinder treatments.

Isabella, a pupil at St Francis Catholic Primary School in Shelfield, was diagnosed with cancer in October 2010 after complaining of a pain in her hip.

Her doctor immediately referred her to Walsall Manor Hospital where an MRI scan was carried out, which resulted in her being transferred to Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

After tests confirmed that Isabella had cancer, she underwent nine hours of surgery to remove a tumour, followed by a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy.

See the original post here:
More cancer-related stories