A Melbourne man says a new cancer pill approved for use in the US saved his life.
Vic Blackwood, 68, told the Herald Sun he had fatal lumps on his lymph nodes and under his arms.
“They said if we don’t do anything, you’ve got three weeks to live,” he said.
“I was so weak, I was in bed for 20 hours a day.”
The drug — called venetoclax — saved Mr Blackwood’s life … and produced a positive response in almost 80 per cent of the 116 participants in a trial at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“The change in me has been more dramatic than in anyone else,” Mr Blackwood said.
“I can do anything now. It saved my life.”
The drug has been approved for use in the US to treat a subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), and is currently being considered for use in Europe …
It’s expected to be registered in Australia in coming years.
Prof Andrew Roberts — from the Melbourne lab where the tablet was developed — says the drug “truly does lead to the disease melting away in 20 per cent of people”.
