Latest news with #CatherineSherry
Daily Mail
07-08-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mother-of-three died without her children at her side and far from home after being forced to travel to London for cancer treatment
A cancer-stricken mother died without her three children at her side when she had to travel to London for treatment. Catherine Sherry, 42, died earlier this year after repeated flights from her home in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, left her weakened and unable to fight an infection. She died 'far from home and far from her children' at King's College Hospital - despite treatment for her lymphoma being available in Dublin an hour from her house. Her grieving husband Fergal Sherry said Catherine had 'used all her reserves of energy and strength to travel'. The primary school teacher was diagnosed in September 2024 but she couldn't have the CAR-T cell treatment across the border at nearby St James's Hospital as it 'wasn't available for patients from Northern Ireland'. But the travelling took its toll on her body and she died in May this year with her husband saying she heartbreakingly told him: 'No mammy should have to be away from their children.' The therapy is currently available in England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland, but not in Northern Ireland. Mr Sherry said his wife would have been treated sooner if they were allowed to go to Dublin, but said there wasn't 'an all-island approach'. She died 'far from home and far from her children' at King's College Hospital - despite treatment for her lymphoma being available in Dublin an hour from her home 'When you are going through cancer treatment you want your family near,' he told the BBC in June. He stayed by his wife's side when she made the journey to London where they would chat to their children on the phone and play music. This week, councillors at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council said it was a 'political failure'. Cllr Killian Feehan brought forward a motion calling for people from Northern Ireland to be able to access the treatment in Dublin. In an impassioned speech, the Belfast Telegraph reported him as saying: 'Let me put it plainly, no mother should have to leave her children behind to fight for her life in another country. 'No family should get a call saying she is going to die when the system itself has failed to give her the best fighting chance close to home.' The Department for Health told the BBC in June that the treatments were available 'on an equitable basis for people from Northern Ireland'. 'The process involves the local clinician making a referral, which is then considered by a national panel of experts who assess which patients are eligible,' a spokesperson said.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Cancer: Newry husband calls for easier access to therapy in Northern Ireland
A grieving husband has called for an advanced cancer therapy to be more readily available for patients from Northern Ireland after his wife died while receiving care in London, away from her three Sherry's wife Catherine was diagnosed with lymphoma in September 2024 at the age of was accepted for CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy but had to travel to King's College Hospital in London, despite the treatment being available in Dublin, just an hour away from her home in Newry, County Down."When you are going through cancer treatment you want your family near," he said. The Department of Health (DoH) said there were no plans for the treatment to be made available as part of the cross-border waiting list reimbursement the scheme, which came into effect earlier in June, patients who have been on an NHS waiting list for more than two years can pay for procedures in the Republic of Ireland and claim the money back. All-island healthcare Mr Sherry said his wife could not get treatment in Dublin as they were told it was not part of "an all-island approach".Mrs Sherry received care in Belfast City and Craigavon hospitals, which Mr Sherry said was he said staff were "annoyed and somewhat even agitated and embarrassed" the treatment his wife needed was not available in Northern Ireland. Mrs Sherry had to make a number of trips to London, including a clinical review and T-cell harvesting for the T-cell therapy takes the patient's own T-cells, modifies them and then reintroduces them back into the blood stream to help fight the Sherry said the travelling took a lot out of his wife."She used all her reserves of energy and strength to travel for the treatment," he told BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show."If we lived in England, Scotland or Wales she would have been treated sooner. "If we were allowed to go to Dublin she would have been treated sooner." 'No mammy should be away from their children' Mr Sherry stayed with his wife in London throughout the treatment while their three children were at said they would speak to Mrs Sherry and play music on the the three boys were unable to be with their mother when she died at King's College Hospital London in May."I wouldn't wish this on anybody, but we unfortunately found ourselves in these circumstances," Mr Sherry added. Mr Sherry said he knew of another person from Northern Ireland who was receiving CAR T-cell treatment in Manchester, but the travelling became too much for them and they were unable to said he wants to raise awareness of the issue because his wife did not want any other families to be away from home during Sherry added his wife had told him: "No mammy should have to be away from their children."He has called for a more joined-up approach, as the therapy is available in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic, but not in Northern Ireland. 'No plans' for treatment in NI In a statement to The Nolan Show, the DoH said the treatments were available "on an equitable basis for people from Northern Ireland". "The process involves the local clinician making a referral, which is then considered by a national panel of experts who assess which patients are eligible," a spokesperson said."There are no plans for this treatment to be made available to people from Northern Ireland as part of the cross border Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme."
