Two years in the past, Tony Jiang was informed he had superior, terminal lung most cancers. In the present day, he's the face of hope for hundreds of incurable most cancers sufferers.
The 46-year-old is combating match because of a brand new remedy serving to to deal with his stage 4 most cancers with the pop of only one tablet per day.
"Typically I do not really feel like a affected person," Jiang mentioned.
This, he mentioned, is a dramatic flip round from the day he was identified.
He suffered two months of persistent coughing which ultimately landed him in a hospital emergency room.
"They did not take into consideration most cancers due to my age, I by no means smoked, I had a just about wholesome life-style."
Physician Vanessa Chin at St Vincent's Hospital Medical Oncologist mentioned Jiang's proper lung was full of fluid.
"By the point I might met him he already had a tube inserted into that lung to empty off the fluid and a biopsy had been carried out," Chin mentioned.
A tissue biopsy of Jiang's lung was despatched off for genetic sequencing. Alterations in his most cancers cells meant that he was eligible for a subsidised remedy, and not wanted chemotherapy or radiation.
"Simply taking a pill, one pill day-after-day and I am simply again to my regular life," Jiang mentioned.
Jiang's physician Chin mentioned the tumours on his scans nearly disappeared and that he skilled only a few unintended effects.
"After we do scans it is really laborious to inform that he has something incorrect," she mentioned.
New expertise now permits pathologists at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital to check a whole bunch of genes in a single go – a process that simply two years in the past was unimaginable.
Anatomical pathologist Dr Tao Yang from St Vincent's Hospital mentioned the expertise used can load 24 affected person samples without delay and ship outcomes in a single day.
"We are able to present cutting-edge expertise providers to many extra sufferers than we used to."
The staff at St Vincent's is now testing the usage of blood samples as an alternative of eradicating small components of stable tissue for genetic sequencing.
"If Tony wants various remedies we normally have a couple of choices for him," mentioned Chin.
Excited to have the ability to dwell his life to the fullest, Jiang mentioned he has "loads of plans" for the remainder of his life.