When Christine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018, she began chemotherapy like many patients. However, after several years, her treatment reached a point where it was no longer doing what it was meant to.

“Chemo is still the major treatment, but it has its side effects, and it can get to a point where it’s no longer effective,” Christine said. “Where your body just doesn’t work like it did. It’s called ‘chemo resistance’.”

Chemotherapy resistance occurs when cancers that have previously responded to a therapy suddenly begin to grow again.

It was at this point that clinical trials were suggested to Christine as a possible option by her oncologist Associate Professor Yoland Antill, who referred her to Dr Prachi Bhave, a medical oncologist who oversees more than 20 active clinical trials at Cabrini.

“She’s wonderful,” Christine said of A/Prof Antill. “She referred me to Prachi with the idea of putting me on this trial and it’s been fantastic.”

In October last year, Christine began her trial, joining a study that has been running for about 12 months, according to Kate Hurford, Associate Team Leader of Cabrini Oncology Research.

“It’s a targeted therapy, so it targets a specific protein, and it can be an intensive trial to start with,” Kate said. “Clinical trials can require a bit of time and commitment, and this one has been particularly intensive at the start, but Christine is responding very well.”

It’s also an early-phase trial, Kate explained, meaning it is in the earliest stages of testing the drug’s effectiveness.

Six months on, the results have been nothing short of incredible for Christine.

“I had a scan done yesterday, and I’ve had a complete response,” Christine said. “The agent that they’re giving me has reduced, reduced, reduced over the six months, and now a full response! It is amazing.”

Before beginning the trial, Christine had reservations. But after carefully considering all the trial information with her son and daughter, she took a leap of faith.

“Now I feel a lot calmer,” Christine said. “My children helped and they backed me to do it.”

Dr Bhave’s approach has also been an important part of Christine’s experience.

“Prachi is wonderful. She’s full of energy and enthusiasm and very transparent. I enjoy the fact that I’m spoken to with absolute transparency, and I feel I can ask her any questions.”

For Kate, Christine’s experience highlights the strength of the research culture at Cabrini.

“We’re really lucky here at Cabrini,” Kate said. “A lot of our doctors are very heavily involved in research and really on the forefront of the new cancer treatments that are coming through. Being looked after by an oncologist at Cabrini often means that clinical trials are considered another pathway for their treatment.”

The quality of care that Christine has received while at Cabrini has left a lasting impression on her too.

“The staff are amazing. I feel I’m in such good hands,” Christine said. “Everyone from the coordinator through to the ladies on 4 West and the nurses who administer each time I come in. They’re all such professional, lovely people. The whole experience has been very positive.”

Christine is also mindful that her experience is not necessarily universal.

“Not every trial is suitable for everybody, and I know that there are people who have tried one and it hasn’t been right for them. So, I feel very, very grateful.”

The significance of being a part of the trial reaches beyond Christine’s own health and treatment.

“It means that not only is it helping me to have longevity, but it also means that hopefully this is helping other people who are in a similar situation have a good response.”

A sentiment that Kate agrees with.

“We are always looking for patients to give them an opportunity that they might not otherwise have,” Kate said.

“We often hear stories from patients who have gone down a path where they have been referred to our doctors, and they say, ‘we didn’t even know clinical trials existed, we didn’t realise this was an option’. So, it’s not always at the forefront of some doctors’ minds, and being aware that clinical trials are an option is the first step down the road of empowering people for their own treatment.”

For those patients who may be hesitant about taking part in a clinical trial, Christine’s message is simple.

“What do Nike say? Just do it? I couldn’t be happier about giving it a go. I do understand that nervousness, though. The fear, the hesitation of the unknown. But we’ve only got one life you know? So, give it a crack.”

As for what’s next for Christine, well that involves swapping the pale, wintry sun streaming through the windows of the 4 West Day Infusion Centre for the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine.

“My family and I are all planning to go overseas,” Christine said. “We all love Greece and haven’t been for some decades. So that’s the plan.”

Read about clinical trials at Cabrini