'An absolute gamechanger': Cork man hails impact of pioneering trial for cancer patients 

John Bradley.

The first time John Bradley was ever in a gym he was taking part in a new programme to support male cancer patients after treatment.

The Cork man felt lost after finishing treatment for stage four prostate cancer but a morning at University College Cork gym on the Mardyke gave him a way forward.

He had been diagnosed after routine blood tests showed he had high PSA levels in 2022, a marker for prostate cancer.

“The first thing I remember thinking was, ‘Oh no, now I’ve to tell my wife and our two boys that I have cancer,” he said.

He went on to have successful treatment at Cork University Hospital including 39 sessions of radiotherapy.

However, Mr Bradley, now 66, then felt unsure how to move forward after such a traumatic experience.

He was told about a new 12-week Cork University Hospital-based trial, designed and run by Cancer Research @UCC.

The LIAM Mc Trial sees men get specialist physiotherapy, nursing and dietician support as well as mental health supports.

“I’d never been in a gym ever in my life before that morning, so it was hard for me for a while,” Mr Bradley said of the first day.

“The second hour after the gym we had a talk.” 

During the trial, participants heard from an Irish Cancer Society Daffodil Centre cancer nurse, a dietitian, an oncology psychologist as well as staff from Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

Trial team (L-R): Prof Jack Gleeson (co-principal investigator of LIAM Mc, associate professor in medical oncology, UCC, and consultant medical oncologist, CUH), Anita Cahill (advanced nurse practitioner, CUH), Katie Johnston (senior dietitian, CUH & UCC), Dr Brendan Noonan (co-principal investigator of LIAM Mc, senior lecturer and vice dean of undergraduate education in the School of Nursing and Midwifery UCC), and Steph Corkery (senior physiotherapist, CUH) at this year’s Irish Cancer Society Research Awards where LIAM Mc won Survivorship Project of the Year.

“By week six, the seven of us on the LIAM Mc Trial were all really into it and enjoying it,” he said.

“They tested our muscle mass at the start of the course and at the end of it, and by the end of the course they found that my muscle mass had increased by 40%. 

“It was amazing and it really flipped things for me.” 

He said by the end: “My wife said, ‘I’ve got my husband back’”. 

He now goes regularly to the gym and swims.

Reflecting on the changes, Mr Bradley said: “I hadn’t realised that I wasn’t the same person after I was diagnosed with cancer and went through treatment.

“If LIAM Mc wasn’t there, I’d just be sat at home. The trial was an absolute gamechanger for me, no doubt about it.” 

The trial is open to men with advanced prostate, bladder and kidney cancers.

Mr Bradley is now living well, with no trace of cancer, saying: “I feel like I’m in a place that I couldn’t imagine being in a couple of years ago.”

The trial was funded with €300,000 from the Irish Cancer Society. 

It recently received additional funding from the society and pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

Dr Brendan Noonan is co-principal investigator as well as a senior lecturer and vice dean of undergraduate education in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in UCC.

“Men have told us that the programme has improved their confidence, physical function, wellbeing and ability to manage life after treatment,” he said.

“Hearing John say that the programme was a 'gamechanger', and that his wife felt she had 'got her husband back', captures the real impact this programme has had on participants and their families.” 

Dr Claire Kilty, Irish Cancer Society head of research, said the society is proud to have funded the LIAM Mc Trial. 

"We look forward to the results as they are analysed and are deeply grateful to partner with Pfizer in providing additional funding to the LIAM Mc team. 

"This continued research will help us better understand the trial’s full impact and guide the future of survivorship care for men with advanced cancers in Ireland," she added.