A woman battling incurable cancer blames Tory NHS cuts for the disease being missed for months and spreading throughout her body.
Bodybuilder Gemma Sisson was told she had the all clear after her last NHS scan, but was sure something was still wrong.
The desperate 38-year-old ended up paying £330 for a more comprehensive private MRI scan, which revealed she had stage 4 cancer.
Her cancer had spread to her abdomen, liver and spine and is now incurable.
Gemma said: "Obviously I wasn't all-clear. I had a final, bigger CT scan from the NHS in July to check the cancer had gone.
"They missed small tumours that had developed in my stomach and they did not scan far up enough to spot the cancer at the top of my spine - they missed it by millimetres."
Project manager Gemma says Tory cuts across the NHS have affected her future and she is petitioning to get full body scans for cancer patients before they are told they have the all clear.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Online Gemma said: "I'm not a political person at all but I have friends who are working in the NHS, who say its got worse and its down to lack of funding.
"Something needs to be done.
"I voted Labour today, because they are for the NHS."
Gemma, who lives in Leeds, but comes from Bridlington, East Yorks, said that she will be forever grateful to the NHS but "a blind man could see the major issues caused by the lack of funding".
She is convinced she was not given an MRI due to the costs involved.
"Having the scan isn't going to stop people getting secondary cancer, but they are going to find it earlier," she added.
Quoting NHS oncologist Clive Peedell who tweeted: "As a NHS cancer specialist, it’s my #publicduty to inform the public that the #NHS cannot withstand another five years of the Tories.
"We are at breaking point. So are teachers, social workers, the police, prison officers, carers...."
Gemma added: "I don’t know loads about politics but if this is the opinion of an NHS cancer specialist who is dealing with this s**t every day, I’m definitely going to listen to him and not be voting for them f*****s."
Her petition has already gained more than 50,000 signatures and she is urging people to sign it and vote Labour today.
Dr Yvette Oade, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where Gemma was treated, said: "Full body scans are offered to cancer patients where it is appropriate and there is clinical evidence to support this, in order to assess the patient's response to treatment.
"Unfortunately there is never a guarantee, even if there is no evidence of active disease after treatment, that the cancer will not recur in another area of the body."
