Cancer patients denied reconstructive surgery

BREAST cancer patients are being denied “life-changing” reconstructive surgery across swathes of the country, amid deepening NHS rationing, research shows.

Freedom of Information disclosures reveal that almost one in four NHS authorities have introduced restrictive policies which mean women can be denied the operations to restore their bodies.

Experts said the rationing measures meant some women who had just been treated for cancer were being told they could only have the surgery within a limited time frame. Around one quarter of the 42,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year in England undergo a mastectomy.

Of those, around one third opt to have breast reconstruction, with a significant proportion choosing to delay this until after they are better recovered from their surgery and treatment.

The new figures, from clinical commissioning groups across the country, show many are only allowing women to have surgery soon after their mastectomy, with others refusing to carry out more than one operation if efforts to reconstruct are not successful.