A Patchwork of Mutation

Available for over a year

Why is it so hard to cure cancer? Although half of all people diagnosed with cancer a decade ago are still alive today - a figure that has doubled over the last 40 years - too many families are still suffering terrible losses while scientists scramble to find "a cure". Dr Kat Arney explores the incredible complexity that modern technology has revealed about this ancient disease, showing that every person's cancer is a unique medley of mutated cells, any one of which could be carrying the seeds of resistance to treatment, and meets researchers who are peering deep into our DNA to discover how to beat it for good. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth Sagar-Fenton