Fife GPs plea to kick-start life-saving cancer research hit by COVID crisis

A retired GP from Fife has urged people to help kick-start life-saving cancer research, so patients like him don’t get left behind following the coronavirus crisis.

Rob Lester was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012 at the age of 55. By this point, the cancer was already advanced and had spread to the bone.

Though he hoped to survive five years, he’s been on the targeted drug abiraterone for around eight years, which he says has given him a new lease of life.

The treatment was discovered and jointly developed by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and has now gone on to benefit hundreds of thousands of men with prostate cancer around the world.

Rob, who was a GP in Dalgety Bay, is now backing a major fundraising appeal launched by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) - which is both a charity and one of the top centres in the world for cancer research - and he is calling for others to support the work that has helped himself and other cancer patients live well with advanced disease.

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The appeal comes after the ICR was forced to put vital work on hold and close the majority of its laboratories because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, funding for research has declined through cuts in grants and the cancellation of major fundraising events.

The ICR has now begun to ramp up its laboratory research again, but Covid-19 has left many cancer patients more vulnerable than ever as they now face delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Rob said the support for cancer research is crucial.

He said: “When I was first diagnosed, I honestly didn’t think I had much of a chance. I had hoped I would survive five years. Then I got abiraterone and that was like winning the lottery.

“It has given me hope – not only have I survived, but I’ve been able to enjoy my life and have a great quality of life.

“I often don’t think about the cancer now. I’ve been able to take up things that I didn’t do before – I’ve joined a walking group and now we do walking holidays.

“We’re looking at the map and thinking of places that we’d like to go. I live what I would call a ‘normal’ life.

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My treatment has given me a new lease of life, and now every day is precious. That’s why we need to support the ICR today, so they can get their life-changing research up-and-running again, to help more people to live a good life with cancer.”

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

“Thanks to research, we are already making great progress against cancer, with diseases that just a few years ago were lethal now increasingly manageable for patients long term.

“However, the coronavirus pandemic has been a major setback and it has been devastating for our researchers to step away from the lab bench, and to press the pause button on their work to improve cancer patients’ lives.

“We’re calling for vital support to kick-start that work and help us compensate for the research hours we have lost – we know that cancer patients around the world are counting on us to deliver new treatments to give even those with advanced disease, like Rob, the chance of a much longer and better life.”

Donate to the ICR fundraiser here:

ICR.ac.uk/KickstartICR

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