An Aberdeen couple have opened up over their heart-breaking campaign to fund life-saving cancer treatment in the USA.
Susan Webster was told there “was nothing that could be done” by Foresterhill doctors when a cancerous tumour was found on her lung in July of last year.
The 60-year-old required a procedure known as SABR.
But she was told by ARI doctors that, although it is available on the NHS, it was not offered over safety fears it could potentially puncture her lung.
It sent her, alongside husband Keith, into a scramble to seek alternative care in her home state of Arizona in the USA.
The pair travelled to the MD Anderson Cancer Centre at great cost, where Susan was offered the targeted radiation treatment.
It successfully shrunk the original tumour so much that it was almost gone.
But, a second tumour has grown back since the couple touched down in Aberdeen in January.
Now they are faced with the exact same situation that “broke their hearts” almost a year ago, with NHS Grampian doctors once again unable to undertake the procedure.
It has forced Keith, a taxi driver for over 30 years in Aberdeen, to raise cash for costly flights back to Arizona through an online fundraiser in a fight for Susan’s life.
Keith and Susan will carry on fight for life-saving treatment
He told The Press and Journal, that they will do “whatever it takes” to fight for Susan’s life.
He said: “I am a self-employed taxi driver so if I can’t work I don’t get paid and to not be with her again during this time would be devastating for us both.
“We’ve have experienced so much kindness, prayers and blessings and we’re so grateful for everyone who has supported us along the way.
“But now, we need to ask for your help again as we prepare for this next step in Susan’s fight.
“We want Susan to have every chance to survive and your support will give us the time, resources and strength to get her through this together.”
Keith has also expressed confusion and sadness over why the treatment is not available to them in Scotland.
He said: “We are now trying desperately to raise funds for us to go back to Arizona to get treatment.
“We know that the treatment is available in Scotland, so we just don’t understand why.
“In Arizona, they did the treatment in a way in which they didn’t have to puncture her lung.
“That’s the question we are asking.”
Arizona woman has made Aberdeen ‘her home’
Susan added: “I need to go home to get treated. I find it ridiculous. I’m a legal citizen here.
“I had to pay all of my NHS money up front when I got my visa to stay here.
“What else do I need to do?”
Susan moved permanently to Aberdeen from her home state of Arizona back in 2018 to be with “love of her life” Keith after they met on a Facebook group.
In the years since she has “fallen in love” with the area and set down roots in the Granite City, with Keith joking that she “knows more people here than me now!”
Susan added: “My home is here, my friends are here and my Church group is here.
“I came here to make a life with my husband and I am rooted in Aberdeen completely.
“I feel like this is where I belong.”
Aberdeen cancer patient’s family plead for donations
The married couple say they have sunk £15,000 into debt as a result of paying for flights and other costs to fund life-saving trips to the USA.
Now, they have urged those who are able to do so to donate to their fundraiser.
Keith added: “It’s been one thing after another, financially and emotionally, but we’re not giving up.”
A spokesperson for NHS Grampian said: “While we cannot comment on individual patient cases, individual needs are always thoroughly assessed and all safe options available to us explored.
“When a patient makes direct contact with us, we are more than willing to discuss their case with them – including their diagnosis, treatment and any further care they received.”
To support Susan’s fight, visit the couple’s GoFundMe page.
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