A WOMAN with an aggressive form of cancer has praised the NHS for making a new treatment available which has increased her chances of a long, happy life.

Beauty therapist Suze Newton, 48, from Leigh, suffers from melanoma, cancer of the skin, and has undergone immunotherapy treatment to prevent the cancer from spreading.

Ms Newton was initially treated for a wart, but after nine months of further consultations, she was diagnosed with stage II melanoma in 2017, and after surgery to remove her melanoma she was given the all clear in December 2017.

In July she noticed a lump in her groin that “resembled a golf ball”, and after visiting her specialist, it was confirmed that her cancer had aggressively progressed to stage four.

Ms Newton began immunotherapy, which activates the immune system to better fight cancer and other diseases.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence announced it would recommend funding the treatment - called nivolumab - on the NHS, as previous studies showed that at 24 months, nearly 63 per cent of patients treated did not experience a recurrence of their cancer.

Within the first week of treatment, the tumour in Ms Newton’s leg “melted like an ice cube”, and as she wraps her hands around the area of the tumour, she cannot feel anything.

She said: “After the first treatment, I was told I had a 66 per cent chance of living for two years, and my chances of living for up to five years is 22 per cent.

“So the statistics still are not great, but before the treatment I had little to no hope of surviving melanoma.

“I have to take everything as it comes, but I’m an extremely positive person, it’s my view that everything must be looked at in the best possible way.

Ms Newton added: “I’m fully behind the use of the treatment, there are risks with it, as with most things, but I truly believe it’s the way forward.

“Statistics can change, I’ve seen stories of people that were terminal pulling through, there is always hope.”