07 November 2023 , 17:58
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It depends how quickly you read, of course. On average though, by the time you get to the end of this piece, three people will have been diagnosed with cancer, and one will have died from it.
Someone in the UK is given that terrifying news every 90 seconds, you see, and we lose 460 of them to it a day; one every four minutes. Genuinely hallelujah then for the news that a drug which can halve the risk of developing breast cancer has been approved for our wonderful NHS, and will start being prescribed next week.
Anastrozole – until Monday licensed for use in Britain only as a treatment, not a preventative measure – will be made available to those in greater danger of getting the disease due to family history, menopause or genes such as BRCA1.
Thousands of women, and everybody who loves them, may now be spared the ordeal of a breast cancer diagnosis, and all that follows, by a pill that costs just 4p a day.
Like many – all? – of you, my family has been affected, broken, by cancer. I’ve been beckoned into those little rooms where devastating bombshells are dropped, shattering worlds for ever. Sat at bedsides, held hands, and watched helplessly as people absolutely essential to my life have slowly, and actually not that slowly, withered away.
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And so, I’ve donated to Cancer Research, run (OK, walked) the Race For Life, tried to be positive and proactive in the fight.
But let’s be honest, it’s a pretty David and Goliath situation isn’t it? The doctor who treated my lovely dad’s very unlovely lung cancer told us at one point that he’d picked up signs of more tumours on a scan, but wasn’t sure, as cancer often disguises itself, pretends to be something else, so that is treated instead, and the cancer left alone to work its evil, deadly magic.
That’s how clever, sneaky and ruthless it is, outwitting us at every turn. Often, despite so many people’s tireless, determined, very best efforts, it feels like we’re completely powerless against this horrendously prolific serial killer.
The head of the NHS says the “vital risk reducing option” of Anastrozole displays “remarkable” potential. Campaigners are welcoming it as “a major step forward” in efforts to tackle the disease. And repurposing a drug in this way, as prevention rather than cure, is being hailed as a potential new frontier – obviously the dream would be to eventually have pills that can prevent every type of cancer.
That’s the day we’re all praying for, obviously, but for now, we have this, and it must be gratefully celebrated. Hope where there once was none. A chance for people who might not have made it through.
A rare shred of good news, both in this particular area, and a world that has seldom felt darker, or more bleak.