Mum from Dudley with incurable skin cancer calls on next UK Government to help save more lives
A mum from Dudley who had to quit her business after finding out she had incurable skin cancer has called on the next UK Government to help save more lives.
Helen Hickman was shocked to discover that a tiny blood-blister on her arm was in fact melanoma in March 2021.
Doctors believed surgery had cleared the cancer but, less than a year later, Helen was given the devastating news that it had spread to her abdomen and her lungs.
From an active person who’d just started a new business, Helen has since found herself back and forth between hospitals, her body weakened by surgery and treatment.
She wants to see a future Government invest more into cancer research as well as tackle delays.
She was forced to wait months for treatment, despite her oncologist suggesting it should start early.
Helen said: “In December he said by the beginning of February he wanted me on my treatment.
"He wanted to start the treatment. It was April when I finally started my treatment with all the messing about and to-ing and fro-ing.
"So I think more needs to be done, more time, more experts need to be involved. It does need to be faster.”
That is something that’s echoed by Cancer Research UK, who say thousands of lives could be saved if research into the disease was prioritised.
Helen’s cancer is now incurable and she doesn’t know how long she has left.
She says she can only hope that more investment, leads to more options for treatment, and a chance to prolong her life.
What are all the parties pledging to do to help people affected by cancer?
Conservatives say they will bring in 50 more Community Diagnostic centres including in underserved areas to result in two and half million checks a year. They will accelerate on on-going improvements in waiting times for cancer care. They will continue to incease spending on the nhs at above inflation rates for every year of the parliament.
Labour says it will introduce a new ‘Fit For the Future’ fund to double the number of CT and MRI scanners, allowing the NHS to catch cancer and other conditions earlier, saving lives. The scanners will be embedded with state of the art AI to bring faster diagnosis of smaller tumours. They will train thousands more GPs.
Libral democrats will provide a guarantee that 100% of patients willl be able to start treatment within 62 days of an urgent cancer referral. They will recuit more cancer nurses so that every patient has dedicated specialist support throughout their treatment.
The Green party says it would bring in a National Cancer plan to match the existing NHS target for 75% of all cancers being to be diagnosed at stage 1 or stager 2 by 2028 . They would also introcduce public health intervention measures on food alcohol and tobacco.
The Reform party say they will endeavour to get to zero NHS waiting lists in 2 years. They would encourage and maintain the workforce by stopping basic rate tax for drs and nurses and they would give tax relief to companies who sell cancer care in the private sector.
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