Family time …Elaine with Alastair, and sons Alfie and Stanley (Image: Elaine Sleigh)
Elaine Sleigh, 42, is able to enjoy time with her family again and has even returned to work after trialling a drug combination called PETRA
The law firm litigation executive was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer – a more aggressive, faster spreading and harder to treat variant of the disease – in January 2022, five months after she first discovered a lump in her armpit.
After a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Elaine of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, hoped her illness was at bay.
But it returned twice – most recently in March this year, when it had also spread to her lymph nodes.
At the time of her diagnosis, Elaine’s youngest child Stanley was 15 months old, and his brother Alfie just five. With the support of husband Alastair, Elaine had chemotherapy before a mastectomy of her right breast and then radiotherapy.
She then signed up to a research study at The Christie hospital in Manchester into a test that checks for cancer cells in the blood stream to boost chances of finding the returning illness sooner.
Her third blood test, in July last year, found cancer cell DNA, leading to more chemotherapy and targeted immunotherapy. For a year it kept the cancer at bay, but in March this year she felt a lump in her breastbone. A scan showed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and her lungs were full of fluid.
Then she heard of the PETRA trial at The Christie’s Manchester Clinical Research Facility, and she started it in April. The trial, sponsored by AstraZeneca, is testing PARP inhibitor AZD5305 on its own and in combination with other cancer treatments. PARP inhibitors prevent cancer cells from repairing themselves, leading to cell death.
Elaine told the Daily Express: “I’ve now had six cycles and with each one I get stronger and closer to my normal self.” Now she is looking forward to her 20th wedding anniversary in December. She said: “I finished my first lot of chemo four days after my 40th so wasn’t up for a party, and I was having the chemo and immunotherapy last year when we had our anniversary, so we didn’t really mark that either. We have a lot of catching up to do!”
Trial leader Dr Anne Armstrong said: “We’re really pleased with how Elaine has responded so far.”
* Follow Elaine’s cancer journey @wedonttalkabouttripleneg