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Jan Ross is a former children’s nurse from Liverpool. In December 2019, Jan began to feel ill. She had picked up an infection that developed into pneumonia.
Though Jan recovered, the infection came back and she ended up in hospital. After further investigation, a bone biopsy in February 2020 confirmed she had multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow.
Myeloma isn’t curable but can be managed with treatment. Jan was devastated and took the difficult decision to retire from her job after a 20-year career in paediatrics.
When Jan started on chemotherapy, it made her so tired that she could only crawl up her stairs. She then had a stem cell transplant in August 2021 and stayed in hospital for over a month, losing 4 stone in weight.
For months, Jan managed without treatment. But by March 2022, her cancer was growing again. The myeloma was affecting her immune system, and she developed an abscess in her spine which had to be removed. She spent months in hospital and had to learn to walk again.
In November 2022, Jan started on a clinical trial, taking a new drug developed by Dr Emma Searle and her research team. This new drug harnesses the power of the immune system to attack the cancer. The antibodies in the drug bring the body’s immune cells and cancer cells together, and this stops cancer cells hiding so they can be destroyed.
Jan continues to be monitored at The Christie every 2 weeks for blood tests and ongoing treatment but she's doing much better than she was before the trial.
“Thanks to this amazing new trial drug, after just 7 months the cancer can’t be detected and I only experience relatively minor side-effects like brittle nails and some loss of taste”.
