Freeze therapy gives hope to cancer sufferer Jan Egerton

Mar 1 2009 by James Marley, Sunday Sun

That was five weeks ago. Now, she is looking forward to a long life in good health. “I’ve got something else I can do to keep me alive now,” Jan said.

“The treatment has made day-to-day life easier. It has stopped me getting so many back aches. And if we manage to clear all the tumours, it will take at least five years for it to grow back, giving me at least five years to live.

“I am a fighter. I am determined to keep battling this cancer.”

Jan was nervous about the procedure. At one point the doctors were working only one millimetre away from major artery the aorta. But the results were worth it.

She said: “They filmed the treatment, and it was amazing to watch it back. You see the cancer turn black and die in front of you. It’s great.”

Jan, who works as a company secretary for Hall Construction Services, in Durham, funded the treatment, and the trips to the US to get it, completely out of her own pocket.

There is no NHS help available for terminal cancer patients in the UK wanting to undergo new treatments like cryoablation.

Despite her constant struggle with mesothelioma, which Jan believes she caught secondhand due to her father’s job working with asbestos, tireless Jan never stops fighting for other sufferers.

She is keen to spread the word about cryoablation, even saying that she would donate any compensation money she gets from her illness to help others fund trips to the US for treatment.

But what Jan really wants to see is this sort of procedure being offered in the UK. “I don’t suppose it would ever be available on the NHS,” she said.

“But even if we had to pay for the cryoablation, it would be more affordable if we didn’t have to fund a flight to America as well.

“I hope the Government, or even just a single radiologist in a single hospital, will consider introducing the treatment over here.”

Jan was attending the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund annual conference last week in Gateshead.

She raised £14,000 for the Wallsend-based cancer fund in 2007 by organising a swanky dinner dance, auction and raffle with her colleagues.

Set up by mesothelioma widow Chris Knighton after the death of husband Mick, the charity has raised more than £500,000. It is currently funding a project to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy drug Alimta, which is said to extend mesothelioma sufferers’ lives by up to three months.

Chris said: “Mesothelioma has affected the lives of many families in the North East, due to the legacy of heavy industries. Recent figures show that many more people will be diagnosed with asbestos in the future.

“This is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness, but we also want to highlight the progress that’s been made to find ways of treating the disease.”