My sick wife was ‘failed by the NHS’
IT WAS with great dismay, but little surprise, that I read the report about UK cancer survival rates (Mail). My wife Susan was diagnosed with bowel cancer after being misdiagnosed three times over the preceding 12 months. She was finally operated on, then had a course of chemotherapy. Three years later, she was misdiagnosed twice again, despite her previous history. A second operation followed, but they failed to notice that the cancer had spread to her ovaries. A third operation six months later meant a hysterectomy, and was again followed by a course of chemotherapy. Less than a year later, the cancer had spread to the lining of her abdomen, and there was nothing more that could be done. Susan died at the beginning of last year. As the Mail reports, early diagnosis is critical in raising survival rates. I am also concerned about what I consider to be the blind dependence on chemotherapy as the recommended treatment for this kind of cancer. After the first operation, my wife asked if there were any alternatives. The oncologist replied: ‘That’s it — take it or leave it.’ We did our own research into other treatments, some of which are highly effective but are not available on the NHS. We could have gone for them but would have had to pay, which we could not do. If we are serious about improving cancer survival rates, it is imperative that, as well as drastically reducing diagnosis times, serious consideration must be given to alternative treatments. Without this we will be no better off in another ten years’ time. Terry Newman, tunbridge Wells, Kent. MY WIFE was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and treated by one of the country’s top oncologists. I pleaded with him to do a DNA or genomic analysis of the tumour but he refused, convinced of the wisdom of following what he considered to be the correct protocols. My wife’s condition gradually worsened over the next 18 months. I managed to get her fast-tracked into a Royal Marsden clinical trial in London, and one of the first things the doctor said was: ‘We deal with mutations, not with locations.’ The Royal Marsden did a genomic analysis, and sure enough, my wife had a rare familial mutation usually found in non-small cell lung cancer and almost never in colorectal cancer. The doctors identified a new immunological treatment that was having fantastic results with lung cancer. But by then it was too late, and my wife passed away in 2014. The NHS sent me a survey in 2017 asking me to rate the quality of her care. I replied: ‘From 2012 until 2014, my wife received absolutely top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art treatment from the NHS — for 1970.’
CLYDe saWYer, London e1.