NHS funding gap prompts bold fundraising push
A cancer patient from Telford is turning to the public to fund life-extending chemotherapy after being refused access to a high-dose treatment on the national health service. Jamie Scott, a 49-year-old communications worker with an NHS mental health trust, was diagnosed with eye cancer in 2011. The disease has since metastasised to her liver, creating a new and urgent set of medical challenges.
Ms Scott has been informed that the liver-directed high-dose chemotherapy, which is approved for NHS use under certain conditions, cannot be referred for treatment through her local NHS trust. She describes a sense of urgency and frustration: “I feel hopeless right now because my oncologist said this is a gold standard treatment, but he can’t refer me for it. I am trying to fundraise.”
The treatment costs around £40,000 per cycle, and most patients undergo at least three cycles. That places the target at roughly £120,000, a sum that Ms Scott says is daunting to reach. She has already raised about £6,700 with the support of colleagues and friends.
“I have a lovely colleague; she’s been really trying to help me. She has had bake sales for me, and she made T‑shirts with a QR code for my JustGiving page,” she said. Yet the scale of the fundraising required weighs heavily: “I feel a bit desperate. There will come a time when there will be too much tumour in my liver and the treatment won’t be viable, so by the time the NHS decides what they want to do it might be too late.”
The situation is not only about personal financial hurdles. It also highlights the tension between what NICE has described as potential “special arrangements” to allow access to treatment while evidence on clinical effectiveness is gathered, and the immediate needs of patients facing progression of metastatic disease.
What NICE and NHS England say about access
NICE acknowledges that patients could receive this treatment under “special arrangements” while further evidence accrues. However, it cautions that current data show the procedure carries serious complications, which adds to the complexity of funding decisions within the NHS framework. In response to questions about Ms Scott’s case, NHS England has been contacted for comment.
For many patients with ocular melanoma that has spread to the liver, options can be limited. The charity sector is highlighting that a substantial portion of those diagnosed with ocular melanoma will develop secondary liver disease, with some studies suggesting the treatment can control tumours in a significant majority of cases. But access remains inconsistent across the country, and patients must often navigate lengthy fundraising efforts if public or private funding is unavailable.
The human side of the fundraising effort
Ocular Melanoma UK notes that around 600 people in the UK are diagnosed with ocular melanoma each year, with a notable fraction at risk of liver metastasis. The charity says the treatment shows promising control of disease in many cases, with some patients living for years after therapy. Yet international patient travel and private funding dominate where NHS pathways are restricted or delayed. Critics argue that British patients should not be left to raise life-saving sums when medical need is clear and the treatment is clinically indicated in many graduate-level guidelines.
Ms Scott keeps her focus on the practical steps ahead: continuing fundraisers, seeking clinical trials, and exploring any NHS pathways that might permit referral. She says the community response has been touching, but the ultimate goal remains clear: access to early, effective treatment to extend and improve her quality of life.
What comes next
Beyond the immediate fundraising target, the case raises broader questions about how the NHS balances clinical evidence, cost, and patient urgency when dealing with high-cost, high-stakes cancer therapies. For patients like Ms Scott, the hope is that a combination of clinical trial opportunities, charitable support, and policy clarity can converge to enable access to treatment that could offer meaningful benefit.
In the meantime, the fundraising continues, driven by a community aware that every donation could bring Jamie closer to a treatment that could slow disease progression and offer precious months or years of additional life.
