About
Jackie
Jackie Jennings is 41 years old, married with a ten year
old daughter. She is suffering from a rare tumour in
her head known as Grade 1 Chondrosarcoma. In January
2004 she underwent surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Birmingham to remove the tumour but unfortunately the surgery
did not remove all of the cancer.
Chondrosarcoma is an extremely rare form of cancer affecting
the base of the skull and spine. Jackie now has a pea
size tumour growing at the base of her skull in close proximity
to her spinal cord and column, as well as several fragments
which broke away during surgery which are also a major concern. Unfortunately
radiotherapy treatments in both the UK and Europe are ineffective
for this particular cancer . However, the good news
is that a different type of treatment called Proton Beam
Therapy is effective, but only available in Japan, South
Africa and USA.
Jackie is now a patient of Professor Bleddyn Jones, Consultant
in Clinical Oncology and Applied Radiobiology at the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital. In a quest for a cure Professor
Jones has sent her clinical notes and MRI scans to
a colleague, Dr. Norbert Liebsch at the Massachusetts General
Hospital, Boston. The good news is that Dr. Liebsch
has agreed to accept Jackie as a patient and treat her with
Proton Beam Therapy.
This type of cancer is so rare that the Massachusetts General
Hospital has treated only 330 cases in 25 years. Dr.
Liebsch has personally treated 220 of these patients and
in no single case has the cancer spread anywhere else. There
is a 95% success rate of killing the tumour and lower than
a 5% chance of further complications.
This is a cure. It is not an ongoing treatment. Unfortunately
the treatment takes 35 days and will cost $175,000 (approximately £95,000 dependant
upon exchange rates)
A meeting was held by the Wyre Forest Primary Care Trust,
Complex Case Panel on the 5th July 2006 to discuss Jackie's
case and the following was stated: 'The patient's
prognosis without Proton Beam Therapy would be 40-50% chance
of survival after 5 years'
The Wyre Forest Primary Care Trust have since informed Jackie
that they will negotiate with The Massachusetts General Hospital
to obtain the necessary treatment at a discounted rate, which
they hope to fund. Further the hospital has now been
able to offer Jackie a Schedule for her treatment, beginning
at the end of November. This is excellent news for
Jackie and her family
However, Jackie will need funds for travel to Boston, accommodation
and general living expenses during her 2 month stay out there.
Please try and make time to read the attached Guardian article,
dated 10 August, 2006 which highlights Jackie's case. And
so, if anyone could possibly help with donations or raffle
prizes please contact us at 8 The Foxholes, Kidderminster,
Worcestershire DY10 2QR
Jo Hill, Appeal Coordinator |
