Mother died after failing to raise money to buy a drug not on NHS
Policewoman, 39, dies after being refused cancer drug on the NHS, even though it’s used for other forms of the disease, and failing to raise £200,000 to buy the life-extending drug herself
- The drug binimetinib is available for other types of cancer on the NHS
- Kelly Stabb did not meet the criteria for a study investigating it in colon cancer
- She put £20,000 of her savings, and fundraised £43,000, towards the drug
- Ms Stabb hoped to start the drug in September but her condition deteroirated
- Her death was announced on Twitter, with colleagues calling her a ‘hero’
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A female police officer has lost her cancer battle just a month after launching a £200,000 appeal for a drug denied to her by the NHS.
Mother-of-two Kelly Stabb, 39, from Paignton, Devon, died after her bowel cancer spread, with her being unable to raise £200,000 in time to access the drug binimetinib, which is available for other types of cancer on the health service.
PC Stabb initially accepted she would never see her sons Jake, 10, and Luke, eight, turn 18, however, her hopes were raised when a trial started testing binimetinib in colon cancer, despite her not meeting the study’s strict inclusion criteria.
After putting £20,000 of their savings towards the treatment, as well as fundraising £43,000, Ms Stabb’s husband Simon claims his wife became too unwell to receive the life-extending drug.
Ms Stabb’s death was announced on Twitter, with police officers from across the UK paying tribute to the ‘hero’.
Thousands of patients with melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, are given binimetinib on the NHS, which has been shown to halt such tumours’ growth.
Mother-of-two and police officer Kelly Stabb has lost her cancer battle just a month after launching a £200,000 appeal for a drug denied to her by the NHS (Ms Stabb is pictured with her husband Simon and their sons Jake, 10, and Luke, eight)
Ms Stabb died after being unable to raise the required £200,000 to be treated with the drug binimetinib, which is available for other types of cancer on the NHS
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Dismissed as IBS
Ms Stabb was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in January 2017 after she began to feel unwell on Boxing Day.
She said: ‘We went away in October 2016 to Florida with the children and when I look back at pictures there was malignant large tumour in my colon and yet I didn’t even know.
‘Medical professionals have said as I was so fit and well my body compensated for it. When I became unwell I was in and out of A&E. They sent me away saying it was irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, which I had never suffered from.
‘Then they gave me a scan on January 24 and the next thing I know a consultant is sat on my bed telling me they had found a tumour which was stage four and I had one my liver as well.’
Ms Stabb had been receiving chemotherapy, which was due to end in September, with her hoping to begin the new treatment shortly afterwards.
Devon and Cornwall police resource deployment officer Lisa Burnett was among those to pay tribute to Ms Stabb on Twitter, writing: ‘Sad news today. Our dear PC Kelly Stabb lost her fight with cancer. She fought so very hard.
‘Our thoughts and prayers to her family at this very sad time.’
Ms Burnett’s tweet attracted tributes and condolences from across the UK, with Megan in Scotland saying: ‘Rest in paradise Kelly, she is a hero!’
After putting £20,000 of their savings towards the treatment, as well as raising £43,000, Simon claims his wife became too unwell to receive the drug after stopping chemotherapy
WHAT IS BOWEL CANCER?
Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.
Such tumours usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.
Symptoms include:
- Bleeding from the bottom
- Blood in stools
- A change in bowel habits lasting at least three weeks
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme, unexplained tiredness
- Abdominal pain
Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they:
- Are over 50
- Have a family history of the condition
- Have a personal history of polyps in their bowel
- Suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease
- Lead an unhealthy lifestyle
Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy.
More than nine out of 10 people with stage one bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis.
This drops significantly if it is diagnosed in later stages.
According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.
It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute.
‘I am so desperate I don’t know what else to do’
Ms Stabb, who considered selling her home to pay for the treatment, previously ran half marathons before her condition became so severe she struggled to walk short distances.
Speaking of her decision to fundraise, she said: ‘I am so desperate I don’t know what else to do. Things have changed dramatically for me in the last few months.
‘I believed I was curable until receiving the devastating news in February this year that the cancer had spread to various parts of my body.
‘I am now reaching the end of standard care treatment. My condition is only getting worse and my oncologist has said that I potentially have several years. How long is that?
‘A recent prognosis from a doctor in America told me a person in my condition may survive 30 months from date of diagnosis. My diagnosis was 18 months ago.
‘I keep thinking, “I’m a wife and a mum to two young boys”. They shouldn’t have to consider not having me around. Mums and dads are always there for their children; that’s our job.’
In the past Ms Stabb raised £35,000 in just eight months for Bowel Cancer West (BCW) to help those who try to detect, cure and prevent the disease. Of the money raised, £5,000 was also donated to the Ricky Grant Unit at Torbay Hospital.
She said: ‘Raising the money for BCW was a good distraction, but now the focus is on me which makes me feel selfish.
‘I have never asked for money for my own cause but I want to stay alive and I will do whatever I can for me to be around for as long as possible for my children.’
Ms Stabb is pictured during a family holiday in October 2016. She claims looking at pictures from the getaway is challenging due to her being clueless as to the tumour on her colon
‘Kelly is resting and appears very peaceful’
Speaking earlier this month, Simon said: ‘Things progressed last week and it is something we never expected.
‘Kelly became very unwell on July 29, and within a few days I was told Kelly had a matter of days, if not hours to live.
‘Fortunately Kelly is resting in hospital and is no longer in so much pain. She is being treated so well by the staff here.’
Simon posted updates on his wife’s JustGiving fundraising page as and when he could.
He recently wrote: ‘I have been thinking how when everything was normal, the day would fly by and you carry on regardless forgetting how lucky you are at times, complaining about the silly things.
‘Kelly is resting and she appears very peaceful. She has been giving us all the most amazing smiles and hugs at times which mean a lot.
‘We are lucky to have such a close family and a huge circle of friends who will do anything at the drop of a hat.
‘Kelly was adamant that if the treatment wouldn’t work we would stop asking [for money]. We were desperate at the time, but it is clear now we will not be applying for the treatment.’
Those who donated towards Ms Stabb’s appeal are being given a number of options on what happens with the money they gave.
These options are: having the money returned to them; choosing a charity they would like to give the funds to; putting it into a fund for Ms Stabb’s children; giving the money to Bowel Cancer West; or nominating that it should be given to the police officer Jade Goffin, who is in a similar position to Ms Stabb’s.
If no choice is made, Simon has pledged to follow his wife’s wishes by returning the money to its donors or splitting it equally between Bowel Cancer West, Devon and Cornwall Police Compassionate Fund, and a saving fund for their children.
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