Terminally ill islander criticises States after drug refusal

Monday 15 October 2018

A young mum with an aggressive form of cancer has criticised the States for wasting money, after the Health Department refused to help fund a drug costing her £1,500 per month.

Former spa worker Laura Cafferty (34) was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma – a tissue cancer – last March after feeling pain in her leg.

Following her diagnosis, the mother of two-year-old Maya began chemotherapy, but was given the devastating news in July 2017 that it hadn’t worked, as the tumour in her leg had grown and the cancer had spread to her pelvis and back.

Since then, the ex-Grand Hotel employee has been on a mission to find, fund and test alternative drugs and therapies in an attempt to prolong her time with her family.

Pictured: Laura with her husband Karl and their daughter Maya.

The search has taken her across the world to the UK, US and, most recently, Mexico for immune system treatment and Glasgow for radiotherapy. While the latter cured some of her pain, the young mum explained that it "didn't have any effect on the actual cancer."

Having spread around her body, Laura's cancer has now left her reliant on "heavy duty painkillers" and her husband, Karl. "There are times I just can’t get out of bed so he tries to do his best for me and brings me food, medication or whatever I need. I feel so guilty that I can’t do more but fatigue and pain just take over sometimes and physically I’m just not able," she said.

Amid increasingly difficult times, the latest beacon of hope comes in the form of new drug Pazopanib. Laura has now started a three-month course, but said she was disappointed to learn that it would not be funded by the States of Jersey, meaning that the family will have to fork out £1,500 each month for it.

"[It] is quite frustrating when you can clearly see the money that is wasted across the island," she said. 

Pictured: Oasis of Hope Hospital in Mexico, one of the places Laura visited earlier this year for experimental treatment.

A spokesperson for the Health Department told Express that Pazopanib is recommended as a first-line treatment option for people with advanced kidney cancer. "It is not routinely prescribed for other kinds of cancer. However, patients may choose to pay privately to receive it if it is a viable clinical option," they added. 

Despite the expense, Laura admits: "If it works for me, it will be well worth it though!"

Awaiting the outcome of the course, Laura is also considering other treatments, but says that her and Karl, "...are not 100% sure what the next step is."

"Karl has been in touch with a clinic in Germany that might be able to offer some treatment but we are holding off on going until we see how Pazopanib is working for me and I will need some post-op recovery time. We also can’t afford Germany just now as just one round of treatment is in excess of €95,000," she explained.