Grandfather Diagnosed With Stage Four Lung Cancer Becomes Free of Disease After Immunotherapy

Grandfather Diagnosed With Stage Four Lung Cancer Becomes Free of Disease After Immunotherapy

Grandfather Diagnosed With Stage Four Lung Cancer Becomes Free of Disease After Immunotherapy Jeff Cook with wife Carol – Credit: Phil Tragen / The Christie NHSFT (SWNS) A grandad diagnosed with advanced lung cancer which often leaves patients dead within four months has become free of the disease after being treated with a new immunotherapy drug. Jeff Cook was told he had stage four cancer in 2019 after seeking treatment for a sore on his chest that wasn’t getting any better. Around 50% of people who are diagnosed with stage four cancer die within four months of their diagnosis and only 5% of patients will still be alive five years later, according to Cancer Research UK. The 76-year-old was advised to get radiation therapy to target the tumor directly—but was also told he could try a new treatment called pembrolizumab (sold under the brand name Keytruda). A type of immunotherapy, pembrolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets and blocks the PD-1 receptor on the surface of our T cells,…