WE GOT £20,000 CANCER DRUG PAID FOR… AND 4 EXTRA YEARS

WHEN Ed Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 50, his private insurance gave him access to a drug that he’d have been denied on the NHS – and an extra four years with his family.

His widow Sue, 51, left with Ed on their wedding day, recalls: ‘Our two daughters were five and eight at the time. I worried they wouldn’t remember their father – but we had those precious four years, which we’re all still grateful for.’

Ed, who worked as an IT manager, began experiencing regular faints in early 2012. He had private health insurance through his work and saw a neurologist. An MRI scan revealed he had an aggressive brain tumour – and was told he could be dead within 18 months.

Thanks to his insurance, he was able to get a drug called Avastin (bevacizumab), which costs about £21,000 per year and is not available on the NHS for brain tumours.

Since her husband’s death in 2016, Sue has taken out private health for £250 a month to cover her and her daughters. ‘It’s something I would never give up. I believe my husband was given more time due to having private health insurance,’ she says.