Background Information:

One of the worst things facing cancer patients is the uncertainty, as we hear from Greg in the film. Often their doctors cannot give them an accurate picture of how their cancer is likely to progress, how long they are likely to remain in remission, how it will respond to treatment or even what would be the most appropriate treatment.

However, cancer researchers are hoping that thanks to a new technology that lets them watch how genes operate inside cancer cells, they will be able to predict how a particular tumour they are studying will behave. It is also thought that these new insights will transform our understanding of different cancers and how to treat them. In the future we may well see tumours classified according to their particular pattern of abnormal gene activity rather than their location in the body or organ.

Greg’s cancer does not appear to be smoking-related in any way but for many people suffering from cancer, smoking will have played a part. Smoking causes and contributes to a range of cancers (see background to Quit: A Hole In My Neck in this series) and so by not smoking people can avoid a cause of cancer they know about and, therefore, potentially reduce the risk. Other lifestyle elements such as diet, exercise and alcohol consumption also have a potential role to play.