A mother given six months to live by doctors is pinning her hopes on a chemotherapy drug she cannot receive on the NHS.
Tanya Pepper, 44, has had one course of the medicine to treat her rare form of blood cancer at a private clinic, the £29,986 bill paid for by family savings.
For the treatment to be successful, a second course of the medicine called nelarabine needs to be administered on or around January 13.
Tanya Pepper, second left, with children Mary, 15, and Andrew, 17, and husband David
It’s a last hope for Tanya, who lives in Southfields, Bourne, with her husband David and children Andrew, 17, and Mary, 15.
Having been diagnosed with a form of T-cell lymphoma three years ago, she has undergone more than a dozen rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
But in August last year she received the terrible news that the cancer had invaded her spinal fluid and brain, and that the NHS had no further treatments beyond palliative care.
Tanya Pepper has a rare type of blood cancer
Tanya was unwilling to give up, wanting to see her children, both pupils at Bourne Grammar School, into adulthood.
“My family is my strength and motivation,” she said.
“I don’t want to leave my children behind – it’s unimaginable. If I had lost my mum in my teens, my life would have been very different to the way it has been.”
Having gone online to ask for alternative treatments, Tanya was told about nelarabine, a drug used to treat cancers similar to her own.
Tanya Pepper has a rare type of blood cancer
While it is used overseas and has been used by the NHS, Tanya was told that it would not be prescribed for her circumstances because of Nice guidelines, but could be administered privately.
The family has managed to pay for the first course of the treatment, which Tanya received on December 17. She will need at least two before she knows if the drug has worked.
David, who set up a fundraising page to help pay for the second course of the drug, has described the financial burden on the family as ‘overwhelming’.
Tanya Pepper says her children and husband give her the strength to keep fighting for life
“We were not prepared for the cost,” said Tanya, who has been unable to work due to her illness, while David, an international agricultural consultant, has stepped back from work to help care for her.
“We have had to seek support through a fundraising page but didn’t want to ask for donations over Christmas and new year, when people have a lot of outgoings.”
The fundraising page can be found at https://tinyurl.com/TanyaPepper
So far £7,349 has been raised, a figure met with gratitude by Tanya and David, who responded by saying they “didn’t expect such overwhelming support”.