£130,000 raised to treat tumour but NHS could have done it free

THE family of a woman with a brain tumour raised £130,000 for treatment in America - only to discover the NHS could have referred her for nothing

Melissa Huggins, a 27-year-old primary school teacher, is due to fly to Boston tomorrow for the high-energy proton treatment, a special form of radiotherapy, after her expenses were covered by the fundraising efforts of her family and boyfriend.

But the 27-year-old, from Staines, who put her wedding to James Pegram on hold to pay for her travel, has now been told their efforts were not necessary and that she should have been offered the opportunity to travel abroad on the NHS.

The case has revealed that in many areas of the Britain, access to treatment is dependent on knowledge about the funding available.

Ms Huggins did not find out that she could have applied for NHS funding to travel to Boston because her doctor was not aware of a scheme which assesses cancer patients for treatments offered in Switzerland, Paris and Boston which are not available here.