Vicky Phelan ‘finally’ gets ‘wonder drug’ in US medical trial 

Vicky Phelan travelled to Maryland last month to take part in a clinical trial and will be there for the first six months of the year. Picture; Instagram: @vickyphelan

Vicky Phelan has said that she has “finally got the wonder drug” in her US medical trial.

The campaigner travelled to Maryland last month to take part in a clinical trial and she will be there for the first six months of the year.

She has been updating people on her journey through social media and last night she tweeted to say: “I finally got the wonder drug, M7824 (it's Pembro 2.0).

“Here's hoping that this drug does for me what Pembro has achieved - a quality of life that has allowed me to really live my life and make memories.”

And it's going in....Today, I finally got the wonder drug, M7824 (it's Pembro 2.0)

Here's hoping that this drug does for me what Pembro has achieved - a quality of life that has allowed me to really live my life and make memories ❤

Thank you to EVERYONE for your well wishes pic.twitter.com/k139l4ZUVW

— Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) February 9, 2021

 

Pembro was the drug Ms Phelan had been previously taking but it has since stopped working for her.

Appearing via a video call on The Late Late Show in January, Ms Phelan said that a scan had shown that things had deteriorated since her last scan in September.

Ms Phelan said: “I’ve had a scan since I got here and the scan showed that things had deteriorated since my last scan at home in September.

“In addition to these three tumours that I already have that had grown, they’ve now doubled in size.

“And I’ve got two new tumours up here in my shoulder blade in my super clavicular…they’re called lymph nodes.” 

Ms Phelan said she is glad she made the move to the US “because things are starting to kind of deteriorate and they will deteriorate further”.

She stated that despite being worried about the side effects of the new treatment, she was also “anxious to get started, to try and start attacking these tumours that are now growing.

“I’ve got 11 tumours which is quite a lot when you think of that.” She said that she wondered how she had 11 tumours and was still able to stay standing.

She said there are three drugs in the trial, compared to one previously.

Meanwhile, another CervicalCheck campaigner has also travelled abroad to begin her treatment.

Lynsey Bennett posted a picture on social media of herself taking off in a plane.

She is travelling to Mexico for immunotherapy treatment.

Thank you to everyone who has made this possible, I’m so grateful. Giving me a chance at life ❤️❤️ lots of love ❤️ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iYZu38O0pV

— Lynsey Bennett (@lynseybennett_) February 9, 2021

 

Ms Bennett said: “Thank you to everyone who has made this possible, I’m so grateful. Giving me a chance at life.”

 Ms Bennett earlier this month settled her High Court action over the alleged misinterpretation of her cervical smear slides.

She said at the time: “I can now focus on my own fight to stay alive for as long as I can.”