‘ONE OF THE UK’S ONLY FEMALE JOUSTERS, FEATURED IN BBC 2’s ‘HOSPITAL’ last night appeals for CROWDFUNDING FOR CANCER TREATMENT not available on the nhs’
A woman who was one of the featured cases on last night’s BBC 2 documentary, HOSPITAL, is appealing for crowdfunding to help fund treatment for Ovarian Cancer that’s not yet available on the NHS and to lobby the NHS for future Cancer funding
Nicky Therese Schelland Featured On BBC 2’s Hospital This Week, A Crowdfund Appeal For Ovarian Cancer Treatment. Nicky, 44, who lives in North Devon and is one of the UK’s only female professional jousters and stunt riders, could be seen undergoing massive Ovarian surgery in the documentary that aired last night, but made an emotional appeal for crowdfunding to help raise the necessary – and potentially lifesaving – £60,000 for the treatment.
This episode focused on the challenges faced by a struggling NHS that doesn’t have the funds to cover expensive treatments needed by some Cancer patients. Nicky is trying to raise the necessary funds for treatment and costs herself: https://www.gofundme.com/nickys-chance-to-beat-cancer. The story has already been commended and has been selected by the BBC to be shown in a Documentary Film Festival.
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Nicky was diagnosed with an aggressive Ovarian Cancer in 2015 and faced two large surgeries before starting a gruelling combination of two aggressive chemotherapies, over a period of 8 months. Following a year in remission, her cancer relapsed in February this year. Local surgeons only proposed more chemotherapy and she did not believe this was her only hope. She undertook a huge amount of research to find out about any other available treatments, standard or complementary, either in the UK or abroad. Each way she turned, the costs for treatment were terrifying…
“No one talks about the cost of Cancer – and I am determined to try and find a way to stay alive. So, I am asking for help”…
She continues; “I am now at home recovering from my surgery in May – this was the operation featured on HOSPITAL last night and was around 9 weeks ago. Since then, I’ve started the chemotherapy combination that was indicated to me. This chemotherapy will be underway for around six months. I have been astonished by the outpouring of love, and sheer kindness from both friends and strangers alike, and I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far, as this has gifted me three extra months on this promising new drug. But there is still a long way to go to beat this, and would welcome people to share my story to raise awareness, both for my own treatment and for all the brave women that face this heart-breaking illness”.
Viewers, last night, could see that this was a huge operation – even bigger than her last two – and, as well as the chemotherapy that is currently underway, Nicky is crowdfunding to get access to a new maintenance drug, a PARP Inhibitor called Olaparib. However, as this is ‘only’ her second time on chemo, and not her third, Olaparib isn’t available on the NHS. Despite the fact this treatment might work, the drugs are not licensed for a first recurrence for Ovarian Cancer in the UK. She continues; “I have no choice but to pay for the drug. This drug costs approximately £60,000 for just over a year. AstraZeneca have just signed a deal with the NHS to provide it for free, if you self-fund the first year. This is the first Ovarian Cancer treatment to get approval from the NHS in over a decade and will still be subsidised by AstraZeneca”.
Nicky has maintained an extensive Supplement Protocol combined with complementary therapies, which appears to be slowing the progression of the Cancer and helps to keep pain down, but to have treatment in London, and to carry on with this Protocol and then pay for the drug that she so needs, she is looking at enormous costs.
So, this is where she is appealing for help; “If I can find enough people who are willing to donate the cost of what they’d spend on a beer or a coffee, I’d have enough to start a course of treatment”, says Nicky.
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Phase 1 of her goal is £6,486, then Phase 2 is £60,000 for Olaparib. Over and above that, she to be able to consider cancer treatment in Europe. Any donation will make a huge difference, helping her get the treatment she needs to beat this horrible illness.
You can help by sharing her funding page. She is also trying to raise significant awareness help, and inspire other Ovarian Cancer ladies, along with educating the public in this awful disease. She hopes that this document will reach a big audience that will highlight some of the issues cancer patients face for treatment.
If you want to you can donate to her crowd funding campaign, hold a coffee morning, sell some cakes, organise a marathon…anything will help. You can also help by sharing her story. There are hundreds of brave women who simply cannot access these drugs, due to the fact that they are unaffordable.
Even if you can’t afford to spare anything, you can make a big difference just by sharing her page – if enough people read her story perhaps the NHS will consider a new license for this drug for Ovarian Cancer.
If you feel you can help, visit Nicky’s Go Fund Me HERE and to watch the episode of HOSPITAL again, click HERE
#hospital #BBC2 @ImperialNHS
