'My life was thrown into complete turmoil following shocking diagnosis'

A woman with head and neck cancer has seen her tumours shrink by a half thanks to a clinical trial at Manchester's Christie hospital.

Jeanette Joyce, 64, from Northwich in Cheshire, was diagnosed with cancer in the roof of her mouth (right tonsil and soft palate) during the pandemic in May 2021, and had to undergo 33 doses of radiotherapy and two cycles of chemotherapy.

Two months later Jeanette completed her treatment, and got the chance to ring the bell in the hospital's radiotherapy unit, to signify the end of her gruelling treatment. Over the next 12 months, Jeanette continued to recover, and attended The Christie for follow up appointments and scans.

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But just three days after her 12-month all-clear, she was diagnosed with a completely unrelated second tumour in her left tonsil.

"I couldn’t believe I would have to go through all the treatment again. Literally, that morning, I’d posted on Facebook the video of me ringing the bell 12 months earlier to signify the end of my radiotherapy treatment, and was looking forward to getting my life back on track,” Jeanette said. “My life was thrown into complete turmoil.”

Scans showed that this time the cancer wasn’t curable due to the size and location of the tumour. Cancer was also found in three other places in Jeanette’s palate. Surgery and laser removal weren’t possible, and neither was further radiotherapy, due to the short time since her previous treatment.

After scans and biopsies, doctors at her local hospital gave her the shocking news that palliative care was the only option.

Jeanette said: “I was so