When Rosslyn Quinn was told in December 2021 that her lung cancer had returned, she feared the worst. Rosslyn was worried she would not be able to tolerate any more chemotherapy because she’d had such bad side-effects previously that she’d had to stop after the first cycle.
Then her consultant, Dr Noor Tariq, at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre told her about a new type of cancer treatment called sotorasib, a targeted therapy that had only been on the market for a few months but that could be suitable for Rosslyn.
This was because her cancer showed a particular mutation nicknamed the ‘death star’ - like the space station in Star Wars - because other cancer treatments couldn't seem to penetrate it.
Now, almost three years later, Rosslyn is living life to the full and recent scans have shown no visible signs of her cancer.
Rosslyn’s story began in December 2020 when she went to the GP with a terrible cough that wasn’t going away. “I’d had it for ages,” she remembers, ‘and then I started getting pain in my shoulder as well but it was what happened one day I was out shopping that really made me worry. I was in Liverpool One and got to the top of the stairs and realised I was so out of breath and tired that I just couldn’t walk.”
Her GP sent her for an x-ray which showed she had cancer in one of her lungs. “I had never suspected a thing,” says Rosslyn, who lives in Moreton in Wirral. “I thought they were going to tell me it was pneumonia or TB or something.”
Rosslyn’s original treatment plan was to have keyhole surgery at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital to remove the tumour, followed by chemotherapy as an additional preventive measure to try and stop the cancer from coming back.
The surgery went very well and Rosslyn had her first chemotherapy treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in May 2021 but became so unwell and dehydrated over the next few days that she had to be admitted to hospital for urgent care. It soon became clear that she couldn’t continue with the chemotherapy.
Then in December 2021, Rosslyn learned her cancer had returned and was now in both lungs. It was the worst possible news to hear at Christmas time and Rosslyn was full of dread when she went to see her consultant at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
But Consultant Medical Oncologist Dr Noor Tariq gave her a glimmer of hope.
Rosslyn’s non-small-cell lung cancer had a KRAS-G12C mutation known as the ‘death star’ because it is so impenetrable to most treatments.
But a brand-new treatment called sotorasib seemed to have the ability to bind to KRAS-G12C and influence the production, growth and self-destruction of cancer cells. In clinical trials, many patients found their cancer didn’t progress or actually reduced. Some patients even found that after a few months of treatment there was no visible sign of their cancer any more on scans.
Sotorasib is what’s known as a targeted therapy. Unlike chemotherapy drugs, which aim to kill cancer cells, targeted therapies interfere with specific features that help cancer cells to grow, reproduce and avoid cell death – for example, by recognising a particular gene mutation like the ‘death star’ in Rosslyn’s lung cancer.
“The sotorasib is a tablet about the same size as paracetamol,” Rosslyn explains, and I take eight of them every morning. I’ve been on them for nearly three years now and I feel great. I don’t have to go into hospital for treatment – I just have blood tests every 28 days to check how I am and then I collect my tablets from the pharmacy at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral, about five minutes from my home.”
Rosslyn also has face to face, video or phone consultations with Dr Tariq and scans every few months to see how well the treatment is working and check for cancer. Incredibly, it has been so effective that there is currently no sign of any active cancer cells on her scans.
Her life is incredibly full with family, friends and hobbies including gardening, travelling, singing in a rock choir and going to the gym with friends she made at exercise classes prescribed after her surgery for lung cancer.
“After my lung operation, they offered us a One Wirral gym pass for 12 weeks of rehab which was fantastic,” she says. “A few of us in the class decided to keep going and one of the men set up a ‘next steps’ group. It’s not too strenuous but we do weights and exercises that can be adapted for different abilities. It’s really nice to talk to other people who have been through the same thing and we go out together for Christmas lunch every year.”
Rosslyn is also a regular visitor to the Maggie’s Centre on the same site as Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral and enjoys their relaxation classes and socialising with other people with cancer.
Rosslyn says:
I always say that I probably wouldn’t be doing half the things I do now if it wasn’t for the cancer. It’s easy just to sit and home and not do much but having cancer has made me really grab life and get out and enjoy it. I want to make the most of every day I have.
Consultant Medical Oncologist Dr Noor Tariq says:
It’s been wonderful to see how well sotorasib has worked for Rosslyn. At the time we prescribed it for her, it was still quite a new treatment.
Sotorasib targets a very specific mutation – KRAS-G12C – that is present in some patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and some other types of cancer. That means it’s not suitable for anyone without that mutation but, as Rosslyn’s story shows, it can be very effective in patients with mutated KRAS-G12C.
“There is always the possibility that treatment will become less effective at some point and the cancer will spread again but Rosslyn is doing very well at the moment and it’s fantastic to see her living such as full and busy life.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Thank you to Rosslyn for sharing her story to help raise awareness of lung cancer and the treatments available.
