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Couple to sell home for vital cancer drug
26 May
Summary
- A couple may sell their home to fund life-extending cancer treatment.
- The experimental drug costs £9,000 monthly and is not available on NHS.
- The treatment is reportedly working, but funding challenges persist.
A couple from Corfe Mullen, Dorset, are contemplating selling their home to finance life-extending cancer treatment for Sandy Harrison, 77. Sandy has bladder cancer that has metastasized to her spine, liver, and lung, and was initially given months to live.
A breakthrough treatment, Padcev, approved for NHS use in August 2026, was hailed as a significant advance. However, Sandy is ineligible for NHS funding as she has undergone two previous treatments, and the drug is currently only recommended for first-line patients by NICE.
This has forced Sandy and her husband, Patrick, to self-fund the treatment, costing them nearly £3,000 per treatment session. They have already spent £80,000, with an estimated annual cost exceeding £100,000. An Individual Funding Request was rejected in March 2026.
Despite the financial strain, the drug is showing remarkable efficacy, leading the couple to feel they have no choice but to continue. To sustain the treatment, they are now considering selling their home, a decision Sandy describes as causing shock and fear.
Their local MP, Vikki Slade, expressed surprise at the funding blockage, noting the clinical evidence of the drug's effectiveness in Sandy's case, despite her third-line patient status.
