"Health cuts are killing me" Sobbing cancer patient denied treatment tells David Cameron

[atomic_joe2]

DAVID Cameron was yesterday confronted by a sobbing cancer sufferer demanding to know why he is spending £12billion on aid while she cannot get treatment

Comments

[polietics]

Anyway we need the money to give to countries overseas that have space programmes to pay for.

With you up to this point - International Aid is vital. Stop reading the Daily Mail. Just because those poor people are in countries other than the UK doesn't mean they're worth less and don't deserve our help.

And besides, Labour cut the NHS into pieces. The Labour that Bevan was a part of is dead - New Labour fucked up mental health care and if you want to hear about problems to do with Labour's health care ask anyone who went through/is going through transitioning. They created the PCTs that have regionalised healthcare.

No defence for any party here, but boosting Labour's record is laughable.

[sesmo]

Yes, let's blame foreign aid for the lack of medical funding. Not the military adventures, nor the London Games, nor anything else. It's those pesky foreigners getting our money for irrelevant stuff like family planning, and food. How dare they.

It's hard not to feel sorry for a cancer patient, but Anna appears to believe that she is entitled to a quarter million dollars, and that she deserves it more than those foreigners who get aid.

[mutive]

It's more than a quarter million dollars - not quite a half million dollars, but still...

[sesmo]

Right you are. A quarter million British pounds. Otherwise, the same argument applies.

[mutive]

Yup. Otherwise do agree with the argument. ;)

[mutive]

These sob stories are a good portion of the reason that a good chunk of the US is convinced that any form of national health care = death to everyone. I dislike them for this reason.

There's a lot missing from this article. The way it's written, poor Anna is going to die over 250K pounds. But we have no idea as to how efficient the treatment she wants is (Would it cure her? Would it prolong her life another 6 months on average? Two months? Do nothing?) It would be good to know this prior to publishing something so inflammatory.

[red_pill]

i was thinking this. we know its cost and what its trying to cure, but not how effective or useful. i am sypthetic to people who try to prolong there life, but there is a limit. in the us, its chosen by how wealthy you are, and your insurense componey, and genrely fucks people over. in the uk, it can STILL depend on how wealthy you are, but there is a commitement to a minimum level of ongoing, protetive and curitvie, no just imidately helping, care. witch is more then can be said for the us.

[mutive]

Yeah, I'm sympathetic to people trying to prolong their lives, too. I just had a friend die of a rare cancer, and it's really tough to watch someone you love die, being unable to do anything. But there's a point where you have to say, "Look, is this really doing anything useful?" (And even if it is, is it doing something useful enough to be worth the cost.)

It does suck that the wealthy are *always* going to get better treatment. But it also sucks that kids die because they don't get enough food. At some point, I am inclined to say, "I'm really sorry, but life isn't fair." It's hard to tell here. But it would not surprise me if the treatment she wants isn't covered precisely because it is expensive and not super effective. (And so while I can see her desperately wanting to try it anyway, it may also make sense for the government to say "no".)

[mephisto5]

...well this is a load of uncited, racist bullshit.

NHS funding is going to remain roughly the same, year on year, in real terms throughout the coalition. The coalition has cut the rate of increase in NHS funding, NOT NHS funding itself.

Yes, I guess it's sad that this cancer patient won't get funding for an unspecified treatment in Germany, but I'd have a lot more confidence in this article if it actually stated what that treatment was and whether it conformed to NICE guidelines for effectiveness etc.

I'd also have a lot more sympathy were I not in my 14th month of waiting to even get a first appointment at a gender identity clinic and were it not exceedingly likely that I'll have to write begging letters to the local council to get my ~£120 /month hormone treatment and ~£5000 top surgery - never mind that the provision of both is mandated by NHS guidelines, councils still try and block them. Seems like the only time money limits/waiting lists matter is when they affect cis people.Anyway, foreign aid money is basically a drop in

[poetic_pixie_13]

Ugh, I'm sorry about the wait for an appointment, bb. I hope you can get all that you need soon.

Generally illness only matters if it's affecting white, straight cis people, this is true. =/

[polietics]

*a trillion cuddles*

[jettakd]

Sending you the best wishes for your progress.

[poetic_pixie_13]

Cut to healthcare are bad and do fuck up peoples lives and can, yes, lead to people dying necessarily.

But the thing about government budgets is that they spend money on lots of things. Perhaps instead of cutting foreign aid there are other things that aren't needed. Like that gaudy mess of security at the London Olympics.