A CAMPAIGNING Flintshire nurse who has battled cancer for more than five years is undergoing pioneering treatment.
Mother-of-two Jane Humphreys, of Mold, was diagnosed with the bowel cancer, which eventually spread to her liver and lungs, in 2004.
She fought a long battle to gain funding from Health Commission Wales (HCW) for treatment with Cetuximab, a vital drug which HCW initially refused to fund because it was not approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
But the organisation overturned its decision in August 2007 thanks to Jane’s dedicated campaigning.
The 45-year-old is undergoing new T-cell replacement treatment which involves modifying the white blood cells which play a central role in the body’s immune system.
She said: “The treatment involves removing the T-cells and genetically modifying them to target the cancer cells before returning them to the body.
“It is intensive treatment and I was quite poorly while I was going through it. It involves going through severe chemotherapy to help the T-cells survive for longer.”
Last year oncology nurse Jane pledged her support for a Welsh Assembly-funded campaign to dramatically reduce the number of undetected bowel cancer cases.
The programme saw 176,000 men and women sent bowel screening test kits in the post, which they could use at home before sending to Bowel Screening Wales for tests.
She praised the steps being taken to detect the disease – Wales’ third biggest killer – in its early stages.
Despite 2009’s trials and tribulations Jane, who is also a carer for her blind and disabled husband, is looking toward the new year with optimism.
She added: “Although I have been ill recently, I am doing OK now and I am looking forward to 2010.
“We had a nice Christmas and it is now just a case of waiting to see if the T-cell treatment will work.
“I have been quite lucky so far and hopefully that will continue into next year.”