Parents of cancer girl may need to RE-Mortgage their home as NHS won’t fund treatment –

Parents of a one-year-old girl battling a rare cancer fear they will have to close their home because… Race against time to raise £500,000 for potentially life-saving treatment abroad.

NHS doctors won’t pay for leukemia patient Winnie Impey to undergo a breakthrough procedure to train her immune system to fight the disease.

He was diagnosed just 11 months after his 35-year-old mother, Lucy, took him to the hospital with pain in his jaw.

Despite initial success after several grueling rounds of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and even a bone marrow transplant, Winnie’s cancer returned last month.

Winnie’s Nottingham family no longer has anyThe devastating news that the NHS can no longer offer treatments to cure him, only to prolong his life.

her parents now trying to raise money for individuals In Singapore, the CAR-T treatment, the same as Oscar Saxelby-Lee, went viral in 2018, the British boy who won the nation’s heart after his battle with leukemia.

The aliens have raised half a million pounds for Oscar’s treatment, and the Impeys hope they can count on the generosity of the public as well.

CAR-T therapy is personalized and involves reprogramming the patient’s immune system cells to attack the cancerous tissue directly.

Treatment is available in the UK for children and some adults with a type of blood cancer called B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Doctors initially thought Winnie had an ear infection, but later tests revealed that it was actually a sign of leukemia, a cancer of blood cells.

Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and even a bone marrow transplant showed early success, while Winnie’s cancer returned last month.

However, the decision as to which patients are eligible for treatment in the NHS is left to a panel of experienced doctors who evaluate each patient’s chances of success after a referral.

Winnie’s type of cancer is classified as undifferentiated leukemia due to a particular mutation.

Although a study is underway in the UK to treat this type of leukemia with CAR-T therapy, the family was told that Winnie was not suitable. The family did not say why Winne was dismissed from the lawsuit.

Now, Miss Impey, a psychology teacher, and her partner Luke, a city employee, face the prospect of taking their childhood home to raise enough money for treatment abroad.

He said talks are ongoing with a hospital in Singapore.

“I know this treatment has worked for others and I have to give it that chance,” she said. “I can’t lose my baby.”

Ms Impey explained that at the time the initial evaluation of her daughter’s jaw was delayed due to pressure from Covid, and the couple eventually took their baby to the emergency room.

“Because of Covid, we couldn’t get anyone to see it,” he said. “At first they thought it was an ear infection.

“He had a cold for a while, before I took him to the emergency room, he became very pale.”

“His jaw was swollen and pushed out. I was looking for it and it was very rare.

Winnie, who will turn two next month, had a 75% chance of surviving a bone marrow transplant a few months ago, but the cancer has returned.

The Impey family was then told that the NHS could no longer offer to treat her cancer, but could extend her life with chemotherapy.

Only 41% of people with leukemia recover from the disease after 10 years.

“We were devastated. We immediately opened the GoFundMe page in hopes of giving it a chance to beat it,” said Ms. Impey.

The couple plans to use all their savings and have already raised £42,000.

Her parents are considering taking out a new mortgage on their home to partially fund Winnie’s treatment, which they say is “a bossy character with a great sense of humor”, but they’ve also launched a fundraiser in the hopes that audiences will like it. it will come too. their help

While chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and even a bone marrow transplant fail, Impey’s hope of a CAR-T treatment, which reprograms a patient’s immune system cells to attack cancerous tissue directly, may defeat Winnie’s cancer.

Winnie with her father Luke. The family said that the delays due to the Covid pandemic prevented almost everyone from seeing Winnie’s jaw problem. The test later revealed that his aching jaw was a sign he had cancer.

Winnie’s mother said, “I know this treatment works for others and I have to give it that chance. I can’t lose my baby.

Her family says that Winnie is doing well now, but time is of the essence as she should be well enough to travel to Singapore for CAR-T treatment.

A similar fundraiser helped save the life of another British child with similar cancer, Oscar Saxelby-Lee, whose family also depends on donations to fund his care in Singapore. Impey hopes the public will rally behind Winnie’s cause too (pictured here)

However, time is of the essence as Winnie needs to be healthy enough to travel and the family should reach their goals within a few months.

“I hope we can go to Singapore in a month or two, even if we have to re-mortgage,” said Ms. Impey. “All you can do is try.”

Miss Impey said that Winnie is now enjoying the life of a one-year-old girl.

“She’s fine now that she’s eating and running, and she’s actually just your typical little girl,” she said.

“He’s a domineering character with a great sense of humor and loves being with his family and walking around and exploring.”

People can donate to the campaign here †

Winnie’s case is reminiscent of Oscar Saxelby-Lee, another British boy whose family has raised funds for the £500,000 needed for CAR-T treatment in Singapore.

The family raised the money they needed in just three weeks, and fortunately the treatment was successful and Oscar was declared cancer-free in January 2020.

There are around 9,907 new cases of leukemia of all types diagnosed in the UK each year, with up to 4,730 deaths from the disease each year.

There are approximately 60,650 new leukemias and 24,000 deaths per year in the United States.

About 41% of people with this type of cancer survive for 10 years or more.