Pembrokeshire man's rare aggressive cancer case raised at the Senedd

A Pembrokeshire man fighting for his life after being diagnosed with a rare aggressive cancer at just 27 years of age, has had his case raised at the Welsh Senedd.
Joshua Carter-Hewins who lives with his wife Beth in Pembroke, has been going through chemotherapy after being diagnosed with a post-transplant Burkitt Lymphoma in June this year - a very rare and aggressive type of cancer.
Beth stated: “The journey thus far has been an extremely challenging one with many obstacles getting in the way.
“Just as treatment was coming to an end and we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel. Josh had a scan due to some symptoms, and the scan showed the worst possible outcome we could expect.
“The intensive chemotherapy treatment has not been working, and the cancer is actually showing up in more places than before.
“The consultant had a few suggestions in regard to other treatments but we have found out that Josh isn’t eligible.
“We have been doing our own research and found two potential drugs that could be used to treat the lymphoma, although it may not be able to be funded by the NHS.”
A GoFundMe page set up (at: https://gofund.me/103e1574) has already raised over £70,000 for the cause.
Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Samuel Kurtz has now raised the matter at Welsh Parliament, making a special request for an urgent statement and intervention from the Cabinet Secretary for health on approving two drugs to treat Joshua’s condition.
“His family, desperate for alternatives, found that a combination of glofitamab and polatuzumab vedotin has shown success in treating similar patients in Europe,” explained Mr Kurtz.
“A recent study from Copenhagen also supports the effectiveness of this combination, but it remains unlicensed for Burkitt, and NHS approval is still needed.
“Josh and his family and friends have already raised over £68,000 of his £100,000 target so that he can get private treatment, yet still need the drugs to be approved.
“Josh’s loving wife is currently desperately trying to reach out to the NHS and the drug company to ask them to grant the use of the drug on compassionate grounds. This has been done before, although it’s very rare.
“So please, on behalf of Josh and his family, can the Health Secretary urgently look at this and get this done,” added Mr Kurtz.