One mum’s medical passage to India
MUM-OF-TWO FUNDRAISING TO TRAVEL FOR STEM CELL THERAPY AFTER HEALTH CHIEFS SAY IT DOESN’T SUIT ALL PATIENTS
It may reduce the pain she is in and the fatigue she suffers from. It will greatly enhance her quality of life Susan’s sister Therese
NEWLY married and ready for family life, Susan Timlin had everything to live for.
But her world came crashing down after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The mum-of-two has been battling the debilitating condition for more than 30 years, which has left her isolated and often too ill to get out of bed. Now her family is hoping to raise £35,000 to send her to India for lifechanging treatment, which she is not eligible to receive in the UK.
Her sister Therese, 53, said: “It has been tough watching her but over the last couple of years she has been getting progressively worse.
“She is in terrible and constant pain; things are looking very bleak for her. We hope the treatment could make a big difference.” As a youngster, Therese said her sister was full of energy and loved life. But in the early 20s, she was forced to give up her job as a bank clerk after being diagnosed with MS. Gradually over the years, Susan, now 56 and from Ashington, lost her mobility and the debilitating condition means she feels constantly ill. Therese, of Morpeth, said: “Susan had to give up work and has become more isolated over the years. She relies on social media to keep in touch with the outside world because she is often too ill to see people.
“True to herself, she makes the best of what she has and tries hard to be upbeat and positive, even in a situation which would have broken most of us.”
Susan’s heart soared when she became aware of a radical therapy known as autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or AHSCT.
The treatment sees patients given a drug that encourages stem cells to
move from the bone marrow into the blood stream, and these cells are then removed from the body.
The patient then receives highdose chemotherapy that kills any remaining immune cells.
The stem cells are then transfused back into their body to regrow the immune system.
Results published in the journal JAMA Neurology suggested some patients suffering from MS saw an improvement in their symptoms.
Therese said: “It is not a cure but it offers the best chance of halting the disease for Susan. She is not eligible for it in the UK because she is considered to be too disabled, but she’s been accepted for the treatment in India.
“It may reduce the pain she is in and the fatigue she suffers from. It will greatly enhance the quality of her life.”
NHS England said the AHSCT treatment is commissioned at specialised centres in the UK but is currently offered only to some people with MS.
A spokesman said: “There is not yet an adequate controlled trial of its efficacy relative to other potent therapies. We recommend that it is made available equitably to all people with MS, but it should only be considered for people with relapsing disease who have failed high-activity licensed disease-modifying therapies, and are prepared to accept the significant risks of the procedure and are eligible under European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation guidelines.”
You can help to fund Susan’s trip on her GoFundMe page. Visit www.gofundme.com/help-susanstop-ms.