Mum ‘denied trial treatment because she doesn’t have ENOUGH cancer’ is forced to spend £70,000 every THREE WEEKS on therapy in Germany

A MUM-of-three claims she was told she "doesn't have enough cancer" to qualify for an experimental treatment.

Louise Gleadell, from Leicester is instead forced to spend £70,000 every three weeks on an immunotherapy treatment in Germany, just to stay alive.

The 38-year-old was first diagnosed with cervical cancer last February, but after the disease spread she was told in January that it is now incurable.

Desperate to have as much time with her kids as possible, Louise tried to enrol on an immunotherapy trial.

But she claims she was denied a place on the trial because she didn't have "enough cancer".

Refusing to die without a fight, Louise took it upon herself to find other alternatives, and has been spending up to £70,000 every three weeks to receive treatment at the Hallwang Clinic in Germany.

After relying on savings and fundraising from her family and friends, Louise is able to enjoy the time she has left thanks to immunotherapy treatment abroad.

Louise, a former holiday business owner, said: "I initially tried to join an immunotherapy trial in the UK, but I was told that I couldn't because I didn't have enough cancer.

"So we've had to use all of our savings so that I can get treatment in Germany.

"The first time that I went to Germany, I had to be there for eight days, and that alone cost £70,000.

"My second time, just three weeks later, cost £66,000 and now every three weeks I have two days' worth and that's £32,000.

"And I have to keep having these treatments every three weeks or my tumours will continue growing and I will die."

Louise was diagnosed with cervical cancer in February 2016 after doctors mistook the disease for post-natal symptoms.

Thanks to several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Louise's cervical tumour shrunk – but it had started to grow in her neck and after and she suffered a haemorrhage, she was told it was now terminal.

I initially tried to join an immunotherapy trial in the UK, but I was told that I couldn’t because I didn’t have enough cancer.

Louise Gleadell

Louise added: "I lost all of my hair from the repetitive rounds of chemo, but that was just a small price to pay for my life.

"I was going to have whatever I could to get rid of this cancer – the more you fight the better chance you have.

"It was weird, after twelve weeks of chemotherapy I slowly began to feel normal again, and I was going to the gym and getting back into a normal routine.

"I thought that everything was fine and that my cancer was minimising – if not, completely gone!

"But then one morning when I woke up I realised that my neck was really stiff and I felt a little lump on my neck.

"I then found out that this was a tumour in my neck, and this was when I was told that my cancer was incurable.

"As soon as I heard this, I just knew that my options weren't up – I wasn't just going to let this cancer kill me.

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"So I started looking into options and it was either targeted radiotherapy or immunotherapy that stuck out to me.

"I had radiotherapy on my neck, to try to minimise the tumour, but I then developed a tumour abscess.

"This was when I started looking at immunotherapy and I applied for trials in the UK.

"Once I was denied, I didn't dwell on it – I knew that I had to try and get on a trial somewhere, I didn't feel like it was my time to go, but I knew my body wasn't coping."

After discovering that there was treatment available in Germany, and seeing the cost of it, Louise decided to scrape her bank balance.

She gathered together all of her – and her family's – savings, cut down on bills and decided to not renovate her kitchen, which had recently been severely damaged due to a house fire.

Louise said: "Although it has cost me everything we have, except the roof over our head, it is worth it to be able to spend some time with my children.

"The next step would be to sell our house, but it's not that simple, the kids are just young.