Yorkshire cancer survivor on why she owes her life to research

Kirsty Mott, 44, is urging people to support a new campaign that shines a light on the invaluable impact that cancer breakthroughs have on the lives of people like her.

Her call comes as data released by Cancer Research UK today reveals that than a million lives have been saved over the last four decades in the UK due to advances in cancer care.

Cancer Research UK said that since the mid-1980s, UK cancer death rates have fallen by around a quarter.

If these rates had stayed the same then 1.2 million more lives would have been lost to cancer, with figures for Yorkshire and the Humber showing nearly 100,000 more lives would have been lost, the charity said.

Kirsty, whose mother Maureen Mallon has survived breast cancer, believes she owes both their lives to treatments and drugs that Cancer Research UK helped to develop.

She was fit and healthy when she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in September 2021 - a cancer of the lymphatic system.

Kirsty, who lives in Copley, near Halifax, had been feeling unwell and then found lumps in her groin, but was told there was nothing to be worried about.

She was eventually diagnosed when her condition worsened.

Kirsty said: “The diagnosis knocked me sideways. It was everywhere except my head, arms and legs.

“They explained that my cancer was not curable, but the good news was that research had made it highly treatable. I would first need six months of chemotherapy, not the kind that would make me lose my hair, and wouldn’t need surgery or radiotherapy. But would then need two years of maintenance immunotherapy treatment to follow. It was a game changer for me to know there was a clear and positive plan, but it was still very scary.

“My husband Tom and my family were so supportive and kept me going.

“I had a scan in January 2022 which showed a dramatically positive response to my treatment. My last scan in May this year showed there were no signs of active cancer - and I am now in remission.

She added: “I’m so grateful for the treatment that has given me back my life, meaning I get to enjoy all the incredible things – big and small - I feared I’d never get to see or do."