Overview
- New figures from the National Prostate Cancer Audit report a measurable drop in mortality within three years for men diagnosed with incurable advanced prostate cancer compared with a decade ago.
- Kevin Mortimer, a Liverpool father, says his cancer is now undetectable three years after a terminal diagnosis following 'triplet' therapy, but clinicians and he describe this as an uncommon 'super responder' outcome.
- Other long-term survivors, such as Kevin Webber who was given two years to live in 2014, illustrate that some patients exceed early prognoses after tailored treatments and ongoing care.
- Patient groups and survivors are urging increased funding, wider access to new drug combinations and more clinical trials so exceptional responses become routine rather than rare.
- Doctors describe 'triplet' therapy as using three different treatments at once and say the audit’s gains reflect a decade of advances in targeted drugs, combination regimens and better diagnostics while the NHS continues to list key prostate cancer symptoms for early referral.