BRAIN TUMOUR SUFFERER CALLS
Brave Kate Munford has battled through surgery, chemo and radiotherapy. Now she has found hope from a cannabis spray not available on the NHS
A YOUNG woman who is using cannabis to treat her brain tumour is calling for the drug to be made available to patients on the NHS.
Kate Munford, 21, had four major surgeries and gruelling courses of chemo and radiotherapy – but was left devastated when her incurable cancerous tumour began to grow back.
Her family began looking at alternative therapies and Kate’s mum Sandra found Sativex, a mouth spray with chemical extracts taken from the cannabis plant.
Sativex is the only licensed cannabisbased medicine in Britain, designed to reduce muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis.
But Sandra read how other people with conditions similar to her daughter’s claimed the drug had helped shrink their tumours.
Encouraged by the stories of hope, the family now pay £375 every six weeks for a private prescription, as well as using legalised cannabis oil.
Kate, from Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, believes both have helped her.
She said: “My symptoms have got a lot better since I began using the treatments. My health has progressed so much and I feel better than ever.
“Hearing the cancer was never going to stop was devastating but I’m booked for another scan and – best case scenario – I’m hoping the tumour will have shrunk.
“I take Sativex four times a day and put cannabis oil under my tongue as it gets straight into the bloodstream that way.
“I’m no longer sick or tired and I know it’s the cannabis that’s making a difference.
“I’m fortunate we can afford it, but I really do feel that the drug should be available to all cancer patients on the NHS.”
Kate’s diagnosis was the latest heartbreak to hit the family after her dad Bryan, 41, suffered a massive heart attack and died in 2010.
But despite the tragedy they have endured, Kate, Sandra and sister Beth are determined to make the most of every day.
Kate said: “I do wish dad was here to help me through this.
“He collapsed in front of Beth and me. He was fit and healthy and then suddenly he was gone.
“It’s been tough, but we are a very close family and my mum and sister are an incredible support.”
Kate was diagnosed with a grade three astrocytoma in March last year after having severe headaches and double vision.
She had four operations in which surgeons were able to remove 80 per cent of the mass, along with four litres of fluid.
But she was then dealt a devastating blow when doctors discovered the mass had grown again a few months later.
Student Kate said: “My optician spotted something at the back of my eye and I was referred to hospital.
“An MRI and CT scan found there was a
It costs £375 but you do everything you can to help your child MUM SANDRA