A WOMAN with an aggressive form of brain cancer has been forced to sell her house to pay for experimental life-extending treatment unavailable on the NHS, as some campaigners press for expanded access to clinical trials.

The Brain Tumour Research charity demanded on Friday that the government invest in research and expand trial access so “patients are not faced with these difficult and costly decisions.”

Jo Fuller was diagnosed with glioblastoma while on holiday nearly two years ago and opted to sell her house, after standard treatments did not work, to continue accessing specialist care.

Only a third of the about 3,200 people diagnosed with glioblastoma each year live longer than 12 months, and only 4 per cent of patients survive beyond five years.

Ms Fuller, 51, said selling her home was one of the “hardest decisions” she ever made, but considered it her only hope to access experimental hyperthermia treatment.

Used alongside radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it heats tumour tissues with the goal of making cancer cells more vulnerable to other therapies. It is not routinely funded or widely available under the NHS.

Brain Tumour Research director of research, policy and innovation Dr Karen Noble said Jo’s case reflects “the devastating reality faced by so many patients and families.

“With few options, some patients turn to treatments abroad, often unavailable in the UK and without any guarantee of better outcomes or improved quality of life.”

But Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr Tony O’Sullivan said the health service cannot be expected to pay for the treatment without evidence supporting its safety and effectiveness.

“This sad situation goes to the core of what the NHS is. A well-funded NHS expands and improves treatments based on sound research evidence,” he told the Morning Star.

“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in England evaluates medical treatments and technologies to ensure they are clinically effective, safe and offer acceptable value.

“Nice should be free from political interference, unlike what has happened with the Starmer-Trump deal on US pharma, where Nice has been ordered to change its criteria.

“But the NHS cannot cure all illness. Sometimes, the NHS can pay for proven treatments only available elsewhere until it develops those treatments in-house.”

“Sometimes patients seek unproven treatments, hoping for a cure, in an understandable investment of hope. However, the NHS cannot fund unproven treatments.”