Gifts of Hope

Alex’s story of hope

Fit and healthy 55-year-old Alex Marshall was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer and given a life expectancy of just 12 months. “Hearing the news that I only had 12 months to live was shocking… In a way I lost my identity… and I got that sick I couldn’t work.”

Alex’s young daughter Lexie also noticed the change in her father. “My dad’s that type of person that jokes around and is very talkative, so when he was really sick he wasn’t that kind of person anymore.”

Alex’s only treatment option was chemotherapy, which can have debilitating side effects, so he jumped at the opportunity to be part of a new immunotherapy trial treatment.

“Thankfully for me, immunotherapy treatment was my lifeline,” Alex said.

After only six weeks of treatment, Alex’s tumour had shrunk by 80%, and after three months it was almost undetectable.

“All of a sudden to be given hope, it was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Alex said.

“Once dad got better I had hope again. It was like a rollercoaster, you go in feeling really scared, and then you come out having the best time of your life,” Lexie said.

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