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Lancashire ICB declines NHS egg freezing for cancer survivor, BBC says
BBC reports that 28-year-old Mollie Mulheron of Padiham, cancer-free after stage four blood cancer, was refused NHS-funded egg freezing by NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB.
A 28-year-old cancer survivor in Lancashire is seeking NHS-funded egg freezing after chemotherapy, the BBC reported, after NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said she does not meet its eligibility criteria1.
Mollie Mulheron of Padiham told the BBC she had stage four blood cancer and could not freeze eggs before treatment because the disease was aggressive and she needed chemotherapy urgently1. She has since recovered and is cancer-free, the BBC said1.
Mulheron said: "It's clearly unfair because the funding is there before chemotherapy, so it doesn't make sense that it's not available now"1.
The BBC said she became ill while travelling in the Galapagos Islands after university; doctors later found a large tumour1. Treatment involved about 800 hours of chemotherapy over more than 150 days, according to the report1. She runs a language academy in Lancashire1.
Chemotherapy can affect fertility, including ovaries and the womb, the BBC reported1. Mulheron said she was treated at St James's Hospital in Leeds and told she could access fertility protection after chemotherapy, but after moving to Padiham she was told funding was not available1. She described access as a postcode lottery1.
She has started an online petition calling for better fertility protection for young cancer survivors after chemotherapy, the BBC said1. She said her ovarian reserve had more than halved in a year and she had been told she was likely to go through early menopause1. She said she did not want to feel pressured to start a family immediately after recovering1.
Updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance says clinicians should discuss fertility preservation with people whose condition or treatment is likely to affect fertility, the BBC reported1. Mulheron said the guidance is not mandatory and can be applied differently by local NHS bodies1.
A spokesperson for NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB said the board was aware of the case and that such decisions follow the current Assisted Conception policy for Lancashire and South Cumbria, according to the BBC1. The spokesperson said the ICB could not discuss individual cases and that it is reviewing assisted conception policies with Greater Manchester and Cheshire and Merseyside ICBs, citing updated national guidance1. The ICB said it would welcome a national policy review that considers the needs of all patients1.
Not medical advice.