Current Affair host Ally Langdon has been left in tears by an Australian doctor diagnosed with incurable brain cancer who decided to pursue a bold new therapy.
After being diagnosed with an incurable form of brain cancer in June, world-renowned melanoma expert Dr. Richard Scolyer said that despite the devastating news, he became motivated to help forge a new era of treatment against this chronic disease.
At the end of the report, where she questions Dr. Scolyer and her treating physician Georgina Long at length about the signs of success of her radical treatment, Langdon is seen in the studio struggling to sign the segment.
“They’re someone special, aren’t they, they both are,” she says.
Dr Scoyler said that rather than undergoing daily chemotherapy treatment where he had “six to nine months to live at best”, he saw his devastating diagnosis as a unique opportunity to advance research and treatment.
Current Affair host Ally Langdon has been left in tears by an Australian doctor diagnosed with incurable brain cancer who decided to pursue a bold new therapy.
Current treatment options for this life-threatening disease are limited, with most patients offered surgery followed by intense radiation and chemotherapy.
After dedicating hours to research and speaking with experts from around the world, Dr Schoyler decided, alongside his close friend and fellow scientist, Professor Long, that immunotherapy was the only option available.
“It was a bleak outlook – standard treatment has remained unchanged for almost two decades, and for my cancer the survival rates are zero,” the co-director of the Melanoma Institute Australia told the National Press Club on Wednesday.
“There were no clinical trials that I was eligible for. Accepting this status quo was never an option.
Opening up about the experience, the famous doctor often brought Langdon to tears.
“I know we have to tread carefully, we’re in the early stages, but this just makes me want to cry,” the host told Dr. Scolyer.
“It’s so inspiring because you set out to explode everything we know about treating brain cancer and you’re doing it.”
Cancer specialist Dr Scolyer strayed from orthodox treatments which he said were a death sentence.
Ms Langdon’s voice cracked as she continued, saying he had “changed the world” even though his treatment had not been successful.
The host also had visible tears in his eyes in the end of the video, describing Dr. Scholyer as “someone special.”
Dr Schoyler said there were “absolutely” no regrets about starting the experimental treatment, saying he was “facing certain death”.
“We transformed melanoma, I want to try and see if we can make a difference in brain cancer,” he said.
About 2,000 Australians develop brain cancer each year, according to official health data, with more than half of cases being an aggressive, terminal form known as glioblastoma.
“Maybe I’m too optimistic, but my extensive scientific knowledge has allowed me to look at my own diagnosis from a different perspective,” he said.
“So here we are today, 4 months after my diagnosis.”
Dr. Scolyer was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer that gave him only months to live.
A pioneer in the world’s first treatments for melanoma, Professor Long said she was “stunned” by the sterile options faced by people diagnosed with chronic brain tumors.
“It seemed so unfair for Richard, whose expertise has been essential in some of the most innovative clinical trials in melanoma, not to have access to a clinical trial himself,” Professor Long told the Press Club.
“There was some reluctance. There have been no clinical trials, no protocols to use immunotherapy in this way in this type of brain cancer.
After consulting with medical experts from across Australia, the pair oversaw the development of a vaccine designed to boost the immune response against cancer cells.
So far, the initial scientific results have been “simply phenomenal”, according to Professor Long.
“First, the number of immune cells inside the tumor increased 10-fold,” she said.
“Second, these immune cells have been activated against an enemy. Third, the tumor’s immune cells were linked to the drugs, proving what we had already demonstrated in melanoma, that there is no blood-brain barrier (…) preventing drugs from reaching the tumor.”
Dr Scolyer said after surgery, followed by a combination of immunotherapy and vaccine, he returned to work and enjoyed cycling and running.
Dr Scolyer says he has plenty to live for with his wife Katie (pictured center right) and three children
He said science had long been pushed forward by scientists using themselves as subjects.
“Faced with certain death, there was no other decision to make. I have spent my life diagnosing and researching cancer, so why should I stop now,” he said.
Dr Scoyler and Professor Long will publish their new findings at a scientific conference in the coming weeks.
Professor Scolyer’s personalized vaccine was developed based on analysis of the specific genome of his tumor, which allowed scientists to identify which treatment would be most effective.
It will not be used or sold to others.