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Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Mum, 30, begs for more time with her kids as tumours grow in her brain lining
Mum-of-two Amy Rainbow was just 26 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now the disease has spread to her brain, her last hopes rest on a progressive treatment that is too expensive to be offered on the NHS A mum of two who is living with stage 4 cancer is begging for the chance to spend more time with her children, who have no idea their mother is so sick. Amy Rainbow, 30, from Middlesborough doesn't know how much time she has left, after she was first diagnosed with treatable breast cancer in 2021, aged 26. Her daughter Harper was just three months old at the time, while son Elliot had only just turned four. Amy needed six months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation treatment and a year's course of cancer drug Herceptin. Just six months after completing her treatment and thinking she'd got the all-clear, Amy began suffering with intense headaches and eyesight problems. Although she pleaded "time and time again" for doctors to give her a brain scan to rule out any more tumours, she was told the pain was "all in my head" and sent to counselling. Amy and her husband Steven - who had met when they were 17 and married just weeks after her diagnosis - decided to raid their savings to get a private opinion. "The doctor said to me, 'there's more chance of me dropping dead from a heart attack than of you having anything in your brain', and refused to give me a scan," she recalls. Three months later, Amy went to A&E with an agonising migraine. "I had been throwing up, it was just horrendous," she remembers. "I just couldn't cope with the symptoms at that point." She was finally given the scan she'd been begging for, which revealed her breast cancer was back, this time as stage 4, with brain metastasis - a tumour lurking in her brain. It was the day of the couple's wedding anniversary, and Amy's world crumbled. "We were both absolutely gutted. We'd been waiting there for four or five hours and the staff kept dismissing me, saying 'oh, you're just here for reassurance'. But when they found the tumour they had to rush me into theatre for emergency surgery. "In that moment it was like my whole life flashed by. I knew straight away what that meant, because I know how aggressive cancer is in the brain. Once it's gone somewhere else in the body, there's no going back then. I just thought, oh my god, I'm going to die. After the life-saving op, Amy had to have more targeted radiotherapy and needed to choose how much of her cancer journey she should share with her kids. To this day, Harper and Elliot have no idea that she is so unwell. "We decided not to tell them anything," she explains. "We just wanted to protect them from it. I lost my hair early on in one of the first rounds of chemo, so my kids are used to me being bald. I always wear a head wrap when I'm out, so that's just what they know." The treatment has taken its toll on Amy's ability to parent as she'd like, too. "They see me being tired all the time and know that I can't do things that I like, so they just sort of think I'm a bit lazy... but I'd rather them think that than know the reality," she says. Heartbreakingly, three months after the surgery to remove the brain tumour, Amy's medical team delivered the devastating news that her cancer had spread into her brain fluid, in a condition known as leptomeningeal disease. Tumours have now started growing in the lining of her brain, and her prognosis is bleak: without treatment, patients with the condition often die within months. Amy and Steven's hopes now rest with a groundbreaking treatment that could extend her life for a few more months while she undergoes more chemo. Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy takes blood from the patient and 'cooks' it in a lab for two weeks, adding cancer-related antigens that help the body to activate its own immune system against the cancer cells. Once put back into her body, the cells seek out and destroy cancerous tumours - and the benefits are life-long. Sadly, while the treatment is available in the UK, it is considered too expensive to be offered on the NHS, so Amy is hoping to raise £30,000 from her GoFundMe page in order to pay for it herself. "My goal would be to be completely cancer-free, but I don't know if that's too hopeful," she says. "But you've got to have hope." Steven, also 30, says his incredible wife is "beautiful, strong and determined" as she navigates yet another round of gruelling treatment. "It's hard seeing the person you love going through this awful illness," he says. "You just wish you could take it away from them in a heartbeat, and for you to be the person going through it, not them." While some parents in her situation write future letters to their children, Amy feels like that may be tempting fate. "I've made memory boxes for both of them and I put bits and pieces in them, but I'm still hopeful for the future," she says. "I want them to have me here for as long as possible. And for them to have a healthy mum, one who can actually look after them properly. Even though I'm there, I'm not really there, because I can't do all the things I used to do for them. My dream is to take them on holiday and to make nice memories with them."
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Head Start federal office serving Michigan shuts without notice
U.S. House Democrats Brenda Lawrence, Katherine Clark and Debbie Dingell visit Wayne Metro Community Action Agency's Early Head Start Program in Dearborn. Nov. 9, 2021 | Ken Coleman The abrupt closure of a regional office for the federal agency overseeing Head Start child care and early education programs in Michigan could lead to disruptions in service. The National Head Start Association said the Chicago office overseeing programs in six states, including Michigan, was abruptly shuttered earlier this week as part of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy's cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Administration for Children and Families, or ACF, the agency that administers the Office of Head Start. Chicago's office also oversees programs in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. A statement from the NHSA warned that the closures could cause 'disruption to vital services for eligible children and families across the country.' Aundreana Jones-Poole, a communications manager for the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, or MiLEAP, said the state 'is working to understand the impact of this week's federal actions on Michigan families at this time.' Four other regional offices were also shuttered Tuesday. Regional offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle faced the same fate as the Chicago office, according to the NHSA. Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said the closures create 'a walk the walk moment for anyone claiming to care about kids and families.' The NHSA said the regional offices 'play a critical role in providing oversight, guidance and direct support to local Head Start programs,' including helping to interpret federal regulations and providing support to Head Start grant recipients. There are 53 Head Start providers in Michigan. More than 70,000 children in Michigan are served by the federal Head Start and Child Development and Care programs, Jones-Poole said. 'In order to avoid disrupting services for children and families, we urge the administration to reconsider these actions until a plan has been created and shared widely,' the NHSA's statement reads. But Cowen, who has written extensively on efforts to undermine public education, said the administration of President Donald Trump 'isn't interested in policy solutions for kids and families that aren't built on moms staying at home or tax dollars going to private schools.' 'I interpret anything other than strong statements condemning the closing of ACF offices as support for doing it—and by extension support for gutting Head Start, child care and the rest,' Cowen said. The Head Start program was created 60 years ago to provide early education and other support for children living in low-income households. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
YMCA ends Head Start program for low-income children in KCMO
Kansas City, Mo. – The YMCA of Greater Kansas City is shutting down its Head Start program. 'The Y has been honored to operate Head Start programs for the past 20 years,' the association said. 'Despite years of dedicated effort to recruit and retain qualified staff in an increasingly difficult workforce environment, it is no longer sustainable to operate Head Start programs.' Head Start and Medicaid providers hit glitches as Trump freezes federal money The program provides preschool education, nutrition and health services for children from low-income families, as well as children with diagnosed disabilities. It was created in 1965 and is the longest-running national school readiness program in the United States, according to the YMCA's website. The program operates out of four locations in Kansas City, Missouri: Columbus Park YMCA Head Start, Northland YMCA Head Start, Park Hill YMCA Head Start and Thomas Roque YMCA Head Start. The YMCA said the last day will be May 23, 2025, as long as staffing allows. 'We understand the challenges this creates for families and associates,' the YMCA said. 'We are working closely with Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), the Head Start grantee overseeing our programs, to assist families and associates.' Still locked out of federal funding, several Head Start preschools may need to close temporarily Head Start is a federal program with 1,600 agencies across the U.S. The National Head Start Association (NHSA) said tens of thousands of children and families were impacted by President Trump's federal funding freeze earlier this year – after at least 45 grant recipients, serving nearly 20,000 children and their families, experienced delays in accessing funds, according to a survey. 'Head Start is a lifeline for children and families in their most urgent times of need,' NHSA's Executive Director Yasmina Vinci said in February. 'While it remains unclear why this delay is happening, it must be resolved immediately or thousands of families and their children will be at risk of losing the critical early care and educational services they depend on to work, go to school, and develop.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
China should not prioritise low prices in drug procurement plan, European lobby group says
SHANGHAI, March 14 (Reuters) - A European business lobby group urged China to take steps not to prioritise low prices over product safety in the country's centralised drug procurement programme. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China also questioned China's recent investigation into quality concerns of off-patent medicines approved for the programme, calling it "unscientific," and lacking in transparency. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. China's National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) launched an investigation in January after local media cited doctors in Beijing and Shanghai saying the cheaper generic drugs used at public hospitals did not appear to have the same efficacy or side effects as those made by Western pharmaceutical companies. The regulator said it had looked into those claims by speaking to relevant experts as well as the heads of seven hospitals and concluded last month that the quality concerns were unsubstantiated. The European chamber, whose online member directory lists drugmakers and hospitals operating in China, said the probe lacked transparency, because an "in-depth explanation" of its process, and data from it, had not been made public. "The investigation was deemed unscientific due to a lack of transparency," it said in a statement to Reuters. Jens Eskelund, the chamber's president, said in a separate statement that it "hopes to see steps taken to ensure that the procurement system for drugs does not prioritise low prices at the expense of product safety and clinical outcomes." The NHSA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the chamber's concerns about the investigation. An official report issued earlier this month said China would "refine the policy for centralized medicine procurement and enhance quality evaluations and oversight" to ensure consumers' confidence in the medication they use. China rolled out the bulk-buy programme in 2018 in an attempt to negotiate lower prices from drug manufacturers and has since expanded it to many parts of the country. The drugs on the list include off-patent blockbusters made by Western pharmaceutical giants as well as generics produced by local players. While the scheme puts pressure on margins, many drugmakers participate in the tenders to supply public hospitals in large volumes.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Tina Smith's Office addresses federal child care funding concerns in Bemidji
Feb. 13—BEMIDJI — During a time of uncertainty surrounding federal funding for child care providers, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith's Outreach Director for Childcare, Carson Oullette, visited Pine Pals in Bemidji on Thursday to discuss what is being done to address these concerns. In January, the Trump administration issued an executive order that directed federal agencies to pause grants, loans and federal assistance programs before judges temporarily blocked the order. Then in early February, Rep. Pete Stauber led Minnesota's Republican Congressional delegation in sending a letter to Gov. Tim Walz demanding "answers and accountability," after claiming that 62 investigations have been opened "to look into federally funded child care centers in Minnesota for fraud and other serious violations." These developments have many child care providers uncertain about their futures. During his visit to Pine Pals, Oullette stressed the importance of federal funding when it comes to these services, whether it helps the providers pay their employees or helps families afford the cost of care. "We've passed the point where you can ask families to shoulder the burden that this care costs, and we're at the point where you can't afford to pay people what they deserve for how important this work is," he said. "(Sen. Smith) understands that no matter what approach you take, the federal government needs to come in with funds to add funds to the equation." In the days following the block of the federal funding freeze, child care programs that heavily rely on federal grants like Head Start were still experiencing delays in accessing funds, according to the National Head Start Association. "Ten days after the temporary federal payment freeze, dozens of Head Start programs are continuing to face challenges drawing down approved grant funds," the NHSA website reads. "Though the cause of the problem is unclear, this has a significant impact on Head Start which relies on steady, predictable access to operating funds in order to keep its doors open and serve children, their families, and the communities in which it operates." In extreme cases, Oullette noted that issues accessing this funding can lead to centers shutting down, creating a gap in the need for child care providers. "We heard from a Head Start program that, for a couple weeks ... was locked out. They could not access the funds that they normally were able to access," he said. "It just left them wondering at what point do they close their doors, and if the more formal conversation is that Head Start needs to be cut, it's just a matter of where do those kids go?" These issues are leading many child care providers to have concerns about the future of their federal funds and grants. "Child care providers like Pine Pals are critical to families and local economies, especially in rural communities where options are already limited. We should be doing everything we can to support them. But instead, it's clear from the last few weeks that nothing is off the table and Republicans are vacuuming up every dollar that they can from wherever they can find it in order to pay for giant tax cuts for big corporations," Sen. Smith said in a statement. "Working families shouldn't have to sacrifice to pay for tax cuts for the rich. I will be fighting with everything I've got to prevent that from happening." Oullette noted that discussing negotiations surrounding child care funding "doesn't seem to be at the top of the agenda" at the federal level, noting that the top priority this year will instead be tax-focused. However, he expressed that there are opportunities to discuss child care-related issues within tax negotiations. "There could be an opportunity for some kind of adjustment to the child and dependent care tax credit and something like the flex savings account," Oullette said. "Other areas of opportunity for support are much smaller, but it's in the food program. We'd like to see the USDA make adjustments that are fair for everyone, recognizing that food costs have gone up." Lydia Pietruszewski, director of Pine Pals, noted her optimism for Sen. Smith's approach to the child care system is one that emphasizes collaboration and choices for families. "I'm really glad to hear that (Sen. Smith's) priorities are the mixed delivery system because that's very much something that we are supportive of," she said. "Even though we're a center we fully recognize, especially in rural Minnesota, that families need options and they deserve options." While future negotiations at the federal level regarding child care funding are uncertain, work is being done at the state level to increase access to the service. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently awarded 25 organizations with Child Care Economic Development Grants, expected to expand child care capacity by 1,400 slots statewide. Two Bemidji-area organizations — Greater Bemidji and the Northwest Minnesota Foundation — received funding as part of $6.1 million in grants. "It would be really hard for the state to carry all of that burden," Oullette said, referencing the work state officials have done on the child care front. "Those very promising conversations really can't happen without federal assistance." Oullette expressed his gratitude to Pietruszewski and the staff at Pine Pals for providing a needed service to the community and opening the conversation about the future of federal funding for child care providers. "Senator Smith really wants to see greater support from the federal side, greater funding and a way to alleviate the pain that families feel," he said. "Thank you so much for seeing the need and the way that talks about cutting funding or uncertainty at the federal level impacts every aspect of child care."
