‘I didn’t have any of the typical symptoms, it came as a massive shock’
06:06, 30 Jul 2025Updated 06:36, 30 Jul 2025
(Image: Handout)
A new mum put her symptoms of fatigue and breathlessness down to pregnancy. But tests finally revealed the devastating reality that she never had any of the ‘typical symptoms for’.
Zara McCormick, 36, is now raising awareness of clinical trials, after she was saved by a new drug being tested out.
When her symptoms carried on after the birth of her son, Lewis, Zara went to her local hospital to have some tests.
The mum, from Gee Cross in Tameside, says she felt her world stop as she was diagnosed with life-threatening bowel cancer the same week as her little boy’s first birthday.
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“I didn’t have any of the typical symptoms like blood in my poo, so the diagnosis came as a massive shock,” said Zara.
Zara had been diagnosed with stage 3c bowel cancer with an MSI-H mutation. Around 10 to 15 per cent of people with bowel cancer have such a mutation.
The mutation happens when genes that should correct errors happening during cell division stop functioning properly.
Thankfully, this type of cancer is very responsive to immunotherapy treatment, and Zara was referred to the world-renowned Christie cancer hospital.
Zara was recommended to go on a trial for an immunotherapy drug.
The interim results of the NEOPRISM trial show that giving people with microsatellite instability (MSI-H) bowel cancer, like Zara, an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab, instead of chemotherapy, before their surgery gives dramatically improved results.
Immunotherapy works by stimulating the body’s immune system to identify and fight cancer.
Pembrolizumab works by keeping cancer cells from suppressing the immune system. This allows the immune system to attack and kill the cancer cells.
It is currently approved for use in the UK for a wide range of cancers including breast cancer, melanoma, cervical cancer and some types of lymphomas and carcinomas.
Zara, Paul and Lewis(Image: Handout)
“At first, I was quite hesitant about going on a trial, but my team at The Christie really helped to put my mind at ease,” said Zara.
“They took the time to talk me through everything and answer all my questions.
“They explained that my type of cancer might not respond to chemotherapy – the standard treatment currently available – and gave me all the information I needed to make the right choice for me. By the end of the appointment, I’d decided to go for it.”
Zara started her three cycles of pembrolizumab in June 2023.
She then had a scan, which showed that the tumours in her bowel and lymph nodes had shrunk significantly, and she had surgery to remove part of her bowel.
Zara had the operation at The Christie in September of that year, and the subsequent biopsy result showed there were no active cancer cells, only scar tissue.
That meant she’d had a complete response to her treatment.
Now, Zara is celebrating more than 18 months cancer-free and has six-monthly and yearly colonoscopies at The Christie to make sure it stays that way.
She is hoping to spend the coming years making memories with her family, including the now three-year-old Lewis, and Zara’s husband of almost a decade, Paul.
“Although I tolerated the treatment well, it did leave me feeling fatigued, so I’m really focused on getting my fitness back so I can be as active as my little boy is,” she said.
“I’m back at work and looking forward to the little things, like celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary in a couple of years and seeing Lewis start school.”
Zara has now been cancer-free for more than 18 months
Zara has also been making an impact by helping others.
“I’m also involved in some bowel cancer support groups, helping others like me,” Zara explained.
“I was so well looked after by my team at The Christie, I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me.
“Anup, my nurse, was particularly brilliant. He was the first person I spoke to at my first appointment and has been there for me every step of the way.
“Having someone like that there when you’re going through a difficult time makes all the difference.
“One of the reasons I wanted to share my story is to change the perception that clinical trials are a last resort. For me, this was the first treatment I had, and I’m so glad I said yes.
“I would encourage other people with cancer to be open-minded about taking part.
“New treatments wouldn’t be possible without trials, so you’re also helping make things better for other people in the future. There’s something very special about that.”
Professor Mark Saunders, Zara’s consultant oncologist at The Christie, comments: “It’s brilliant to see that Zara and all the other patients have responded so well to immunotherapy. More trials need to be done to validate the findings, but the results we’ve seen so far are really encouraging.
“Pembrolizumab is a very effective drug and has the potential to change the lives of a few thousand people diagnosed with this type of bowel cancer in the UK every year.”
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The NEOPRISM trial is still recruiting patients, and over the next few years, researchers will assess overall survival and relapse rates.
NEOPRISM is a collaboration between UCL (University College London), UCLH, The Christie, St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, University Hospital Southampton, and the University of Glasgow.
Almost 60 per cent of patients had no signs of cancer after treatment with pembrolizumab alone, with the rest cancer-free after subsequent surgery, says The Christie.
The current standard of care would be surgery, and then possibly conventional chemotherapy, which is likely to be less effective than immunotherapy prior to surgery.
The target recruitment is 78 people, and the team hopes to complete recruitment as soon as possible.
When patients are referred to The Christie to discuss their cancer treatment, details regarding potential clinical trials they may be suitable for will be discussed.
Together, the patient and clinical team will decide whether it is appropriate to proceed with a trial or not. More information about taking part in clinical trials can be found on The Christie website.