Question: Do you personally think that we’re close to finding the cure to any type of cancer?

Natasha Myhill answered on 7 Nov 2017:

Great question. So, the answer is probably a little bit but we are still a long way off. There are some cancers which we know a lot about, and others we still have a lot to learn. Some cancers can be treated easier than others as well. It depends on how the cancer has come about. For example, a lot of breast cancers carry a specific mutation that is the same in a number of different patients. Scientists have worked out what drugs these cells are vulnerable to so can treat them better. In my area of skin cancer, there are a number of drugs that work for some people and not for others. Rather than finding a cure for cancer, it is most likely that we will be able to the find the best treatment for that patients cancer – basically personalising the medicine to the patient rather than finding one treatment to cure everyone. What I am working on at the moment, a treatment called TIL therapy, is personalised as it uses the patients own immune system cells to try and fight their cancer – its looking very promising!