We are The Christie magazine Oct 2025

Patient stories

Zara McCormick Zara McCormick, a 36-year-old mum and project manager, is celebrating two years of being free from bowel cancer after taking part in a clinical trial at The Christie.

Zara, who's married to Paul and mum to Lewis, was diagnosed the same week as Lewis’s first birthday. She had initially put her symptoms, anaemia, down to pregnancy. However, when they continued after Lewis was born, she was referred for tests at her local hospital and diagnosed with stage 3c bowel cancer with an MSI-H mutation. Because this type of cancer is very responsive to immunotherapy, she was referred to The Christie to discuss going on immunotherapy as part of the NEOPRISM trial.

Zara is now keen to spread the word about the importance of clinical trials: “One of the reasons I wanted to share my story is to change the perception that clinical trials are a last resort. For me, this was the first treatment I had, and I’m so glad I said yes. I would encourage other people with cancer to be open-minded about taking part. New treatments wouldn’t be possible without trials, so you’re also helping make things better for other people in the future. There’s something very special about that.” Professor Mark Saunders, Zara’s consultant oncologist at The Christie, said: “It’s brilliant to see that Zara and all the other patients have responded so well to immunotherapy. More trials need to be done to validate the findings, but the results we’ve seen so far are really encouraging. Pembrolizumab is a very effective drug and has the potential to change the lives of a few thousand people diagnosed with this type of bowel cancer in the UK every year. Any patients interested in taking part in clinical trials should discuss this option with their consultant or GP. Not all patients will fit the criteria for a specific trial.”

One of the reasons I wanted to share my story is to change the perception that clinical trials are a last resort. For me, this was the first treatment I had, and I’m so glad I said yes.

She started three cycles of immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab in June 2023. A scan showed that the tumours in her bowel and lymph nodes had shrunk significantly, and she went on to have surgery in September to remove part of her bowel. The biopsy result showed there were no active cancer cells, only scar tissue, so she had a complete response to treatment.”

12