A retired nurse, once dedicated to helping cancer patients, now finds herself in a challenging battle of her own, forced to choose between basic necessities and affording travel for her treatment.
At 75, Donna Harvey was diagnosed with Sarcoma last December. However, she reveals that the financial strain of her illness has been even more daunting than the diagnosis itself.
Residing in Hampshire, Ms. Harvey faces a substantial travel expense of £90 for each round trip to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in London, a cost she shares with her husband.
As she prepares for surgery next week, which will require a month-long hospital stay for recovery, her primary worry remains the looming train expenses. She admits, “At least during my stay, I won’t be burdened with travel costs.”
Ms. Harvey shared, “We’re having to stretch our food budget, opting for simpler meals to manage the cost of getting to my treatments.”
She added, “There are various support options like grants out there, but unfortunately, I’m not eligible for any of them for some reason.”
‘But we just take it one day at a time.
‘For us, it’s really difficult, because we’re low-income, and it costs so much to go on the train, and we don’t drive.
Donna Harvey, 75, was diagnosed with Sarcoma last December, but insists the financial ramifications have been ‘the worst part of it’
With her upcoming surgery next week, Ms Harvey will spend a month in the hospital to recover. Pictured: Swelling on the side of Ms Harvey’s side due to her sarcoma
‘It’s been so nerve-wracking trying to raise the money all the time.
‘My husband’s been selling his media collection to pay for all the train fares. That’s helping quite a bit, it’s just so expensive.’
Ms Harvey was looking to raise enough that her husband could stay at a nearby hotel so he could visit her in the hospital, but the couple are unable to afford the cost.
She said: ‘We were hoping my husband could just stay for a couple of days at a hotel, but we don’t have the money.
‘He’ll stay for a little bit, and then have to go home, and we’ll have to just talk on the phone to each other.’
After recovering from her surgery, Ms Harvey is due to have radiation therapy in Southampton, again, more costs on travelling.
‘We’re trying to figure out the coverage for that,’ she said.
‘If my husband went with me, which I wish he could, because I feel pretty vulnerable going there by myself.
‘I have to have it five days a week for five weeks, and it’ll end up costing us about £1,000 in travel expenses, so that’s kind of scary.’
‘I’m hoping that he’ll go with me the first time, and we’ll write down all, so I don’t get lost, but it still takes two hours, it’s not a short trip.’
Ms Harvey has set up a GoFundMe page to help assist in paying for her travel costs and has so far received more than £1,200.
She said: ‘We are very appreciative. I was just so amazed because we didn’t even know any of the people, hardly, that did it, the donations.
‘I thought that was so kind, you know? That so many people gave, you know?
‘But over time, people lose interest as it goes along, so it’s kind of slowing down now.
‘But at least it got us to this point where I’m done with the tests and I’ll be in the hospital so we won’t have any transportation costs for over a month.
‘And I’m not sure, after surgery, what kind of help I’ll need at home, or what kind of shape I will be in.
‘They have rehab and all that. Sometimes it’s hard to walk afterwards, because a lot of muscle tissue’s been, you know, affected.
‘But, they’re really amazing at what they do. It’s really quite advanced.’
Ms Harvey was looking to raise enough that her husband could stay at a nearby hotel so he could visit her in the hospital, but the couple are unable to afford the cost
Ms Harvey was diagnosed last December after she went to the hospital thinking she had swollen from a spider bite. Pictured: Swelling on the side of Ms Harvey’s side due to her sarcoma
Ms Harvey was diagnosed last December after she went to the hospital thinking she had swollen from a spider bite.
She said: ‘I got bit by a spider, so I thought at first it was a spider bite, but it was the cancer, the soft tissue sarcoma.
‘It just was growing bigger and bigger, and I went to the doctor, and it took a while to get things done, but now I’m having surgery on Monday, so we’re finally getting started with the treatment.
‘There’s been a lot of tests and different procedures that have been happening over the past months.’
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital operates one of Europe’s largest, most renowned sarcoma services, specialising in bone and soft tissue tumour care.
Ms Harvey continued: ‘Its a very hard-to-treat kind of cancer, and they do a fantastic job there, and everybody there is really amazing.
‘It’s just hard, though, because of all the wait times, because of the NHS, but the staff are amazing.
‘It’s really important for people that are going through cancer, whatever kind it is, to get the support they need, whether it’s the medical support, getting things done in a timely way.’
