Last night the Bookham support group was educated and entertained by Dr Nicola Annels, who heads up our cancer immunotherapy research team in Guildford.
She gave a fascinating presentation on recent discoveries and challenges in beating cancer, that includes advances in the use of live viruses to kill cancer cells, activating the immune system, and combating recently recognised T-cell exhaustion.
We are very fortunate in Guildford to receive living tumours and tissue, direct from the operating theatres at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, across the road, that can be kept alive for up to 10 days.
This allows the oncology team to observe treatments in real time and, by agreement, give treatments deliberately to patients having tumours surgically removed to measure reaction.