Crusader Mum’s cancer funding plea
CANCER care in Wales has let us down, says Richard Falconer whose wife Anca has a rare form of the disease but was turned down for specialist treatment on “funding” grounds. The couple cite a mixture of budget and regional restrictions, inconsistent processing and assessments, together with scant information.
They are seeking donations to pay privately for the treatment in a bid to prolong Anca’s life now the cancer has spread.
“It should not have come to this,” says Richard, 51. “The medical expertise is there to help people like us but the systems don’t always seem linked up and inefficiencies, or worse, creep in.”
The Falconers’ battle began soon after their only child, Mary, was born six years ago when Anca, 36, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma (LMS).
She was monitored by the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and underwent tumour surgery.
Although this was a success the family, from Haverfordwest, were warned of inoperable secondary liver cancer, which is what happened four years ago and after they had moved from England to Wales.
“Anca had gruelling chemotherapy and the cancer did not spread to her lungs as predicted. Her best hope then became a targeted intensive treatment for her liver,” explains Richard.
The treatment – selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) – can halt or reverse tumour growth. It is only available privately although the NHS is doing evaluation trials. “We made repeated applications for this route, but they were all rejected by NHS Wales,” adds Richard.
“Our request to get referred back to the specialists in England was also turned down, although before we moved it was our understanding we could return to the Marsden.” Their desperation increased when a specialist the family consulted privately also recommended SIRT and advised them to ask again.
“But we were told the application was futile even though we were producing new evidence from his report. My wife is in terrible discomfort, the contradictions just make us despair,” says Richard.
When Crusader contacted the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) director Dr Sian Lewis said: “We care about the best care for the people of Wales and our commitment is to the provision of treatments that deliver the best evidenced outcomes, cost effectively, so that treatment is made available fairly.”
WHSSC and the Welsh Government said SIRT’s effectiveness in treating liver cancer had still to be established and was therefore only being offered to a limited number of NHS patients in England through the evaluation programme.
Results are expected by April 2018 when NHS Wales would make a decision.
Richard said: “That date could be too late for my wife. The cancer she has is so rare it never gets included in specific type trials. But many studies worldwide show SIRT’s benefits for LMS.
“Fundraising for the £30,000 needed for the treatment privately is our last hope.”
Last week deliberations over one of the couple’s pleas were continuing as to whether rules would allow Anca to see an NHS specialist in London or whether she would have to reapply and start all over again.
For details on the Falconers’ campaign visit justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/anca-falconer