A variety of vaccine treatments are under trial, says Joyce Taylor- Papadimitriou, head of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's breast cancer biology unit at Guy's Hospital, London. She will describe some at the health lecture. Theratope is one vaccine that promises to check the growth of tumours and prolong life in those with breast cancer that has spread.
Early tests suggest it can more than double the average survival rates.
Breast cancer was diagnosed five to six years ago and I had a mastectomy - all my lymph nodes were removed and eight were affected. I had chemotherapy and stayed free of further trouble until just over a year ago. Then I began to feel very unwell, and tests at Guy's showed the cancer had spread to my bones and liver. It was a devastating shock. Following further chemotherapy, Helen, a former English teacher, willingly accepted the offer of a place on the Theratope trial.