A mum is raising £60,000 towards her cancer treatment after facing delays over her care. Ailsa Guard, 46, was given the devastating diagnosis she had metastatic breast cancer back on February 7.
But she first started to feel ill last November after a lump was discovered in her armpit. Weeks later, on December 15, she was told it was probably Covid-related and to expect an appointment within a matter of weeks. But as time ticked on her condition got worse. She had her first biopsy and scan two months later on February 2. The mum had to undergo a series of mammograms and biopsies along with CT scan and two MRI scans.
Ailsa had been due to have a mastectomy on March 30 but the MRI revealed the cancer was in her lymph nodes in her neck and she needed chemotherapy first ahead of surgery. She had a letter on April 20 warning her of further delays and that her initial meeting with the oncology team would not take place until May 17.
Read more: Covid cases drop across the UK by nearly a third as Wales keeps highest infection rate
Ailsa, of Hafod in Swansea, said: “It was quite shocking – you think of course you will get seen and it will be quite quick. I was told I needed another biopsy on my neck but it was cancelled and it was not happening because you have the cancer there. It was at the beginning of April. The doctors were worried about things in my chest. A month later and they weren’t doing anything – they needed to do something.”
She opted to go for a second opinion and fundraised £600 so she could cover the cost of privately going for a mammogram in Cardiff. It led The Spire team to write to Swansea Bay University Health Board in a bid to speed up the process of her being seen. Ailsa added: “When you have got something like that you do not feel like you should constantly be fighting for appointments. You should be able to fight and keep positive.”
She added: “I had a lump under my arm back in November last year and I thought: 'What the hell is that?' The first scan I had was on December 15. I was told we are getting a lot of people coming in with lumps from the vaccine and Covid. I went through Christmas and was not too worried.
“In January my aunt died suddenly and my mum broke her arm. I had to chase an appointment and the lump had got bigger. They did a biopsy and it was cancer and it was not very good.
“I was given a piece of paper in an envelope which said 'metastatic breast cancer' and I googled it and it said I had weeks to live.” Ailsa was scheduled for a mastectomy and for her lymph nodes to be removed on March 30. Ailsa, who lost her job as a project manager back in January, said a further scan revealed the cancer had spread to her neck and she was told she needed chemotherapy before the surgery could take place.
She is due to have her first oncologist appointment on May 10 but fears it will be too late as her chemotherapy will not start straightaway. It has led her friends to set up a fundraising page towards her own treatment.
Ailsa said: “I have been diagnosed since February and I have had nothing this and the cancer is winning. That is what has scared me. I am a very strong person but I have had nothing to try and keep it away.
“On Tuesday I had an appointment to see if I can have tamoxifen to reduce the oestrogen. This is until I get the scans to check out the nodule in my lung has gone. I need to treat it as a secondary cancer. If it has not grown we need radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It’s a waiting game.”
She said one cycle of chemotherapy would set her back £6,000 and it was likely she would need six to eight cycles. For radiotherapy the cost would be between £10,000 and £15,000 but she was unsure how many cycles she needed. Despite the challenges she has faced she was full of praise for the staff at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital for their support.
Her focus now is on raising the money she so desperately needs for treatment. “I need to raise £60,000 and need to scream and shout because I want to live,” she said. So far more than £5,000 has been raised by her friends but she needs even more cash to roll in. To donate go here while you can go here to read about how a Cardiff team is investigating how to train our systems to destroy breast cancer and ensure you never miss the key stories by subscribing to our newsletters.
A Swansea Bay University Health Board spokesman said: “We understand what a distressing time this is and we apologise that the delay to Ms Guard’s wait for treatment has made it even more upsetting. The health board aims to provide high-quality timely cancer care and our dedicated staff work incredibly hard to achieve this.
“This is a complex and evolving case which has required some additional diagnostic tests. We have also needed to switch from a planned surgery to a previously unplanned treatment, chemotherapy, at short notice. The time it has taken for a subsequent appointment to discuss chemotherapy is longer than any of us would want.
“The date has been brought forward once and if it is at all possible to bring it even further forward we will of course do so. In the meantime we would welcome the opportunity to discuss Ms Guard’s concerns with her directly.”
A Welsh Government spokesman added: “We are unable to comment on an individual’s medical care. We are sorry to hear about this case and send Ms Guard and her family our best wishes. The NHS is working hard to see as many people as possible and cancer waiting time performance improved in February.”
