Cancer-hit mum needs £8k-a-month after falling victim to NHS postcode lottery

Edith Conlon has been struck down with cancer THREE TIMES

A cancer-hit mum is being denied access to a treatment on the NHS. Edith Conlon was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, has beaten the disease twice, and was rediagnosed with a more aggressive form of cancer for the third time.

The 58-year-old’s cancer is ‘incurable’ and can still be managed by chemotherapy. But there is a risk the mother-of-three’s breast cancer could become resistant to the treatment – and the novel drug Enhertu could act as a viable alternative.

Now daughter Maria Conlon – who lives with her mum in May Bank – has launched an online fundraiser to pay for her mother to be treated privately. Enhertu is an anti-body treatment which has been proven to effectively treat incurable breast cancer. The wonder drug is currently available in Scotland and 18 other European countries – but it is not available to women in England and Wales under the NHS.

Talks to roll out Enhertu on the NHS collapsed for the third time in 2024 after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) failed to agree on a suitable price with Astra Zeneca and Daiichi Sankyo which manufacture the drug.

It has left thousands of women across the UK without Enhertu.

The 22-year-old trainee teacher told StokeonTrentLive: “My mum was first diagnosed with breast cancer when I was very young. I was still in primary school. She ended up having a mastectomy. We thought it had gone but then it came back in 2020. She had another mastectomy alongside chemotherapy and it looked like it had gone again. But in 2022, it came back again. The first two times she was diagnosed weren’t too serious. But it has come back in a more advanced form this year.

“The Enhertu drug is the best treatment out there for her cancer type. It offers really good survival rates, often doubling the amount of time you have while giving you more viable treatment options going forward. It was quite a big blow when Enhertu got rejected on the NHS. The renegotiations got our hopes up and then the talks fell through again. So it has been quite the emotional rollercoaster.

“That leaves traditional chemotherapy as our only treatment option, which her cancer could become resistant to. Enhertu can manage my mum’s cancer and potentially give her more options going forward. Funding it privately will cost around £8,000 per month. Putting aside some money means we can look towards it as a next step.”

Despite the challenging situation, Maria says Edith and the rest of the family are staying positive.

Maria explained: “I think my mum is incredibly strong and positive. She’s doing exceptionally well under the circumstances. Her resilience is astounding. That’s how we’ve managed to stay so strong and optimistic. She’s still always telling jokes and laughing. Despite everything, the household is still a lovely place to be.

“Ultimately, we just want to make as many memories as we can. My mum is the heart of our household. She’s really funny and intelligent. She speaks about four or five different languages. She’s a brilliant mother, who is completely selfless. She puts everyone else before herself despite her circumstances. She’s definitely my role model and inspiration.”

A full course of Enhertu costs around £100,000. But Maria is fundraising to secure as many private monthly sessions as possible.

She said: “I did fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust last summer, so this isn’t my first rodeo! But this is the first time I’ve ever done a personal fundraiser. I’m overwhelmed with the support we’ve received already since we launched the GoFundMe. I just want to see how this goes and raise as much as we can. If we need a little extra, I might do something else with my friends in the near future.

“I’m also going to be doing the Race for Life this summer in honour of my mum. I’ve got myself a gym membership and I’ve been going each day. It’s nice to feel like I have something purposeful to work towards. Cancer can make you feel a bit helpless, but this gives you a sense of direction. Knowing that you’re doing something to help and contribute helps to give you some of that sense of control back.

“I’m hoping the race won’t defeat me! I’m quite into my fitness, hiking and keeping active, so hopefully I should be able to cross that finish line. I’m hoping the weather is nice for us too! I’m looking forward to getting it done.”

Now Maria is hoping her efforts can make a difference.

She added: “Hopefully my fundraiser can get enough cash together to fund her treatment. In the long term, we’re hoping it becomes publicly available on the NHS for all the women who might need it. People’s lives rely on it and arguing about price just seems ridiculous. Part of why I’m doing this is just to raise awareness for the need for it and how important it is.”

You can support Edith’s treatment by visiting Maria’s GoFundMe page, here.

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