A former gym addict from Leeds who was diagnosed with terminal cancer only has a couple of days to live, according to her friends.
Gemma Sisson, 39, was given the all-clear from pelvic cancer in January 2019 following chemotherapy treatment.
However, after complaining to a physiotherapist in August 2019 about back and neck pain that she had suffered since March of the same year, Gemma was advised to pay £330 for a private MRI scan that revealed she had secondary tumours in her neck, back, liver and stomach.
Just before lockdown, Gemma was then diagnosed with terminal cancer and she has now been living out her final days in a hospice.
Gemma’s friend of over a decade, Daniel Clark-Bland, said: “The timing is never great when its terminal. We’ve heard she will pass either today or tomorrow but it’s still important to talk about this and get the attention that it needs.
"Had Gemma received a full-body scan in January 2019 before the 'no evidence of active disease' verdict, her secondary cancer may have been diagnosed much earlier which in turn could have changed the long term outlook for her.”
Daniel who is now appealing for support from the public to sign their petition which asks cancer patients to be given a full-body scan before they are given the all-clear.
So far it has received more than 99,000 signatures but it is far from its 150,000 target. To get more awareness on the petition, which may save more lives in the future, people can also email their MPs about it.
He added: “The standard practice, specifically including the NICE Guidelines, need to be reviewed and updated as at present patients do not receive a full-body scan before a 'no evidence' or 'all clear' discharge is given.
"Instead, only the areas where the cancer was originally detected are re-scanned which allows greater opportunity for secondary cancers that may already be developing to be missed. This, in turn, leads to unnecessary patient suffering and avoidable cost to the NHS.”
Speaking to LeedsLive in December last year, Gemma said she felt lucky they found her secondary cancer before she became completely paralysed, but feels it could have been detected earlier.
She said: "I was given the all-clear in January and was having three monthly scans after that.
"At my last scan in July, they decided I could now switch to yearly scans.
"I dread to think how bad I would have become waiting another year for a scan.
"I was going to my GP and was getting very strong pain killers but it did not enter my head that it could be anything to do with cancer.
"Unfortunately, nobody else - including a chiropractor and medics at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) A&E - made the connection either or even looked any further to investigate my back pain.
"When I went for private physio care, the physiotherapist told me straight away that I ought to go for a scan on my neck to see what was going on - the pain was so severe I had to pick my own head up to get up in the morning.
"He had worked at the LGI in the spinal injuries unit for several years, and he literally saved my life and stopped me being paralysed."
You can view the petition here.
