Doing my bit for medical science

So the operation is all over and done with but I will write about that another day. It felt surprisingly like consolation to be offered the chance to take part in some medical research, I mean when you have something serious it feels important that some small good might come out of it. I got a call from one of the doctors at St Mary's to see if I would take part in a drug trial, and then had a meeting with her after I saw the oncology consultant. The drug Metformin is prescribed to diabetic patients and has something to do with balancing blood sugar (it was explained in more detail than that but I don't recall). It was noticed coincidentally that for women taking it who also had endometrial cancer their tumour appeared to grow more slowly. The trial is seeking to establish if there is a link between the drug and tumour growth and so non diabetic patients with cancer are being given the drug in advance of their surgery to see if there is any effect on the growth of their tumour; I took the tablets for the four weeks up until my operation and then they will compare the biopsy results taken at my hysteroscopy with the ones done after my hysterectomy. It was not part of my treatment and there was, of course, a 50/50 chance that I would be in the placebo group anyway.

The information listed some disconcerting side effects but I was fortunate enough not to really experience anything, though my tea did taste a bit weird for a few days one week. I saw the same doctor when I was admitted last week and she took another armful of blood, and that will probably be the last I hear about it, unless I actually seek out the study when it is published.

The second piece of research is being conducted again through the oncology team at St Mary's and is looking into Lynch Syndrome, an inherited gene mutation. It has strong links to several cancers, most significantly bowel cancer, but also endometrial and ovarian cancers. The purpose of the study is to find out what proportion of endometrial cancers are due to Lynch Syndrome and so be able to argue that patients should get routine screening so that preventative checks for bowel cancer could be offered. The doctor said that they were particularly keen to get me signed up because I did not have any of the other risk factors for endometrial cancer. In this study I will get actual results from the test, either positive or negative for the gene in question, and then the option for follow up care.