UK woman cured of cancer by 'wonder drug'

A woman from Wales was declared all-clear of cancer, thanks to a new medicine called dostarlimab. Carrie Downey's stage three bowel cancer disappeared within six months of taking the 'wonder' drug, BBC reported.

Carrie, who is a single mother with a 17-year-old son, is preparing to return to work after her successful treatment.

The 42-year-old civil servant who was diagnosed with bowel cancer last year, was given dostarlimab infusions for six months, after which tests have shown zero evidence of the disease, Swansea Bay Univeristy Health Board said in a news release.

Dostarlimab specifically targets a certain variant of colorectal cancer. Even though it is still in the clinical-trial stage, it is already producing impressive results while avoiding surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Dostarlimab can be offered to patients who have stage two or stage three cancer.

Dostarlimab is a form of immunotherapy, a focused treatment that aids the immune system in eliminating the cancer.

Following a previous hernia mesh implant, Ms. Downey was experiencing pain and was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer a year ago.

Speaking about side effects, Carrie said she experienced a rash here and there but nothing compared to chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.

She was referred to Swansea's Singleton Hospital's consultant oncologist, Dr. Craig Barrington, who recommended Dostarlimab. The drug was administered intravenously three times per week for six months, with each infusion requiring about 30 minutes.

Scans conducted halfway through her treatment revealed that the tumor had shrunk significantly. There was no sign of the cancer at the end of the treatment. 

"I'm just so thankful to Dr Barrington and his team that I got the chance and that he had looked into the mutation and looking at these new therapies. He has given me my life back. I will be forever grateful to him," she told BBC.

Dostarlimab was administered to 18 patients with rectal cancer last year for a total of six months, and every single one of them was showed zero evidence of the cancer at the end of the treatment.