The miracle tablet that has kept a beloved granddad's deadly prostate cancer at bay for a DECADE

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A beloved dad and granddad has had his life saved by a miracle tablet that has kept his aggressive prostate cancer at bay for the last 10 years. When Jim Thornhill first discovered he had cancer some 11 years ago, doctors found it was the most severe form of cancer and was no longer curable.

The Sale man has two and four grandsons, and was faced with the possibility of not being able to watch the little ones grow up. Then, Jim got an unexpected offer.

Jim became one of the first patients at the Manchester cancer specialist centre, The Christie, to be recruited to the world’s largest clinical trial for prostate cancer. More than a decade on, Jim is still alive and medics think that the drug he has been receiving could halve the risk of prostate cancer death.

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In 2011 Jim, a retired engineer, discovered he may have a problem with his prostate because he was unable to pass urine whilst he was on a cruise with his wife Anne. He went straight to his GP on his return home.

A biopsy showed he had stage 4 - the most advanced stage - prostate cancer. It had spread to the lymph nodes and wasn’t curable.

With radiotherapy not possible due to the spread of the disease, and with few options available to him, Jim was offered the opportunity to join a clinical trial. In December 2011, he became one of the first patients to sign up to the STAMPEDE trial at The Christie.

The trial was designed specifically for men with an aggressive form of prostate cancer where the cancer hasn’t yet spread. During the trial, it would be treated with a new daily hormone tablet.

At the time of diagnosis Jim’s PSA (the protein produced in the prostate) was dangerously high at