Worcestershire family face $500k bill for US cancer care

Megan Smith travelled to America for treatment in December

The parents of a cancer patient face selling their home to pay for treatment abroad in the hope of extending her life, her brother said.

Megan Smith, from Worcestershire, was 24 when she was diagnosed with stage four rectal cancer in January 2019.

After being placed in palliative care, her family researched treatments that led them to the United States.

While there, tumours were found on Ms Smith's brain, and the family say they now need to raise $500,000 in total.

"We will do whatever we can," said Terri Smith, from Kidderminster, adding her sister was unwell for about a year before the initial rectal cancer diagnosis.

Megan Smith was 24 years old when she was diagnosed

The family was told the rectal cancer was inoperable, and a course of radiotherapy commenced.

That shrunk the tumour, they said, making surgery to remove it possible, although the illness spread to her liver and a lung.

Terri Smith and her brother Peter then began researching the disease, privately funding, they said, a tumour-starving drug to help extend the life of their sister while looking for alternative treatments.

When a paid test showed the patient had a rare and aggressive form of cancer, the siblings added, they began searching for medical trials that could help.

The pair secured a prescription of a drug in the United States which, they said, was designed to delete the mutation in the cancer, and make chemotherapy treatments more effective.

The family set out to raise the £150,000 needed to get Megan to America and have the treatment, receiving, Mr Smith explained, "immense" support from friends, family and strangers who raised tens of thousands of pounds.

Megan Smith flew to Florida in December for treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

Emergency surgery

Once in the US, she started suffering headaches and had a seizure, following which doctors discovered 11 tumours on her brain.

She has undergone emergency surgery to remove four, but is having treatment called gamma knife radio surgery - in which targeted beams of radiation are focussed on tumours - to remove the remaining seven.

The family says it means a total cost of $500,000 for all the treatment, and are continuing the fundraising efforts.

Mr Smith said his parents may eventually have to sell their home to help cover the costs.

"It is what it is; we will raise it," he said.

'Can't comprehend'

Terri Smith added: "Initially it did really stress Megan out so much, but how are we ever going to turn around and say there is treatment for you but no money - I can't comprehend it.

"We would love nothing more than to get our sister cured and get her home.

"As long as she's responding to treatment, we will continue to fight and do whatever we've got to do to get what she deserves."