![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_HVR_MEN_290725_zara.jpg\")
(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n‘I didn\u2019t have any of the typical symptoms, it came as a massive shock’<\/p>\n
06:06, 30 Jul 2025Updated 06:36, 30 Jul 2025<\/p>\n
(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n
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 \u2018typical symptoms for\u2019.<\/p>\n
Zara McCormick, 36, is now raising awareness of clinical trials, after she was saved by a new drug being tested out.<\/p>\n
When her symptoms carried on after the birth of her son, Lewis, Zara went to her local hospital to have some tests.<\/p>\n
The mum, from Gee Cross in Tameside<\/a>, says she felt her world stop as she was diagnosed with life-threatening bowel cancer the same week as her little boy\u2019s first birthday.<\/p>\n Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have any of the typical symptoms like blood in my poo, so the diagnosis came as a massive shock,\u201d said Zara.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The mutation happens when genes that should correct errors happening during cell division stop functioning properly.<\/p>\n Thankfully, this type of cancer is very responsive to immunotherapy treatment, and Zara was referred to the world-renowned Christie cancer hospital.<\/p>\n Zara was recommended to go on a trial for an immunotherapy drug.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Immunotherapy works by stimulating the body\u2019s immune system to identify and fight cancer.<\/p>\n Pembrolizumab works by keeping cancer cells from suppressing the immune system. This allows the immune system to attack and kill the cancer cells.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I was quite hesitant about going on a trial, but my team at The Christie really helped to put my mind at ease,\u201d said Zara.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took the time to talk me through everything and answer all my questions.<\/p>\n \u201cThey explained that my type of cancer might not respond to chemotherapy \u2013 the standard treatment currently available \u2013 and gave me all the information I needed to make the right choice for me. By the end of the appointment, I\u2019d decided to go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Zara started her three cycles of pembrolizumab in June 2023.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That meant she\u2019d had a complete response to her treatment.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n She is hoping to spend the coming years making memories with her family, including the now three-year-old Lewis, and Zara\u2019s husband of almost a decade, Paul.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough I tolerated the treatment well, it did leave me feeling fatigued, so I\u2019m really focused on getting my fitness back so I can be as active as my little boy is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Zara has also been making an impact by helping others.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also involved in some bowel cancer support groups, helping others like me,\u201d Zara explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so well looked after by my team at The Christie, I can\u2019t thank them enough for what they\u2019ve done for me.<\/p>\n \u201cAnup, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving someone like that there when you\u2019re going through a difficult time makes all the difference.<\/p>\n \u201cOne 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\u2019m so glad I said yes.<\/p>\n \u201cI would encourage other people with cancer to be open-minded about taking part.<\/p>\n \u201cNew treatments wouldn\u2019t be possible without trials, so you\u2019re also helping make things better for other people in the future. There\u2019s something very special about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Mark Saunders, Zara\u2019s consultant oncologist at The Christie, comments: \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019ve seen so far are really encouraging.<\/p>\n \u201cPembrolizumab 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.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_HVR_MEN_290725_zara_03.jpg\")
Zara, Paul and Lewis(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_HVR_MEN_290725_zara_02.jpg\")
Zara has now been cancer-free for more than 18 months<\/p>\n