A former Dublin Bus driver has told how cancer clinical trials have saved his life as he battles leukaemia and several other cancers.
Peter Mulvany, 75, urged cancer patients to consider trials, saying: “The trials meant there was one last chance I could survive, I knew they’d be using new medications, but you just have to deal with it.
“You have to develop a mindset that everything is not rosy that you’re living with cancer, but you’re not dead.”
The dad-of-three knows first hand how lucky he is to be alive, adding: “My sister died in my arms from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1978, and I was told that they can deal with it now.
“That’s how far it’s gone, I just think back she could have been alive today.”
Brave Peter – who went back to study law in UCD in 1992 – was diagnosed with a number of cancers over the years.
In 2004, he was experiencing difficulty swallowing, and following tests, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, requiring surgery.
This was followed by thyroid cancer in 2008 for which he had surgery. Around the same time he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) for which is still monitored.
In 2019, following further examination, Peter was offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial for CLL.
Activist Peter is a member of the Irish Soldiers Pardons’ Campaign which has campaigned for members of the Irish Defence Forces who deserted to fight with the Allies during World War II to be pardoned.
And the plucky Dublin man added: “But it’s there all the time, so in my mind’s eye, I say well I’m living with cancer, I’m in remission but I have another few years.
“I believe the clinical trial has saved my life. If you have cancer and we can’t cure it, the only thing there is to look forward to is Glasnevin.With these medical trials there is hope.”
To mark International Clinical Trials Day, Cancer Trials Ireland will host a virtual Cancer Retreat next Friday May 21.
