A mum-of-two who was denied a potentially life-saving NHS cancer drug trial because of the Covid-19 pandemic has died.
Tributes are being paid to Dr Wendy Peake, who passed away surrounded by her family at home in Bowdon, Altrincham, last month. She was 61.
Dr Peake's family have now spoken out to thank thousands of people who donated funds to an appeal launched on her behalf after the NHS drug trial she had been accepted onto was cancelled due to Covid just days before it was due to start in 2020.
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Almost £200,000 was raised and used to fund private treatment, but the family revealed that sadly the cancer spread to her lungs.
They said, however, that the treatment funded by the kindness of others 'definitely prolonged' her life, meaning they were 'able to make more amazing memories with her'.
Dr Peake, an educational psychologist who also worked as a teacher, told the Manchester Evening News at the time she had passed 'difficult, horrendous assessments' to qualify for the treatment, but was told in a phone call by a specialist nurse the trial would not be going ahead and had been suspended.
"We were beside ourselves," she said. "I'm never normally in a low mood, but that night I was in a low mood. I cannot describe it. I wrote to Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, you name it I wrote to them in desperation. It was devastating. It's just so wrong, isn't it?
"If you can afford it, you can have it, if you can’t you die."
Dr Peake spoke out widely about the situation she found herself in, despite the NHS saying at the time cancer treatments wouldn't be affected by the Covid pandemic. Her story was also shared by the BBC's Panorama.
Dr Peake, who leaves husband Andrew and daughters India and Bella, was diagnosed with ocular melanoma, an extremely rare form of eye cancer, after going for a routine eye test in 2017. She had to have her right eye removed and was later given a prosthetic.
She later found out that the cancer had spread to her liver, which is said to happen in around 40 per cent of cases involving ocular melanoma.
Test for brain cancer came back clear and she was accepted onto the NHS trial, which would have involved isolating her liver so she could tolerate far higher doses of chemotherapy. It was due to begin in the March, as the nation was plunged into lockdown.
Daughter Bella said the funding raised enabled her mum to have four rounds of 'chemo saturation' treatment, which she said had been a success. Sadly, however, the cancer spread to her lungs, meaning she was no longer eligible for more the treatment.
Bella said in an update on the GoFundMe page: "It was by far the most effective treatment mum had and definitely prolonged mum's life and meant we were able to make more amazing memories with her.
"After the chemo saturation and over the course of the last two years mum tried three different immunotherapy treatments, two of which were trials, which all had varying success. The second treatment left mum with terrible side effects which massively reduced mum's quality of life however mum being mum did not give up and tried another trial treatment, which unfortunately had little success.
"By this time mum was extremely ill and we all as a family decided to stop mum's active treatment at the start of May of this year.
"Later in May mum stayed for almost three weeks at the wonderful St Ann's Hospice, where the amazing doctors and nurses were able to get mum's symptoms under control and treated us all with such kindness. On the June 8 mum returned home to her bedroom surrounded by her family and looking out onto her garden.
"Sadly, mum passed on June 9. Although we are filled with overwhelming sadness, we take comfort in knowing that mum is now at peace and free from worry and pain. Before mum passed, mum asked us to update you all and to thank every one of you for allowing her to spend more time with her beloved family. We are forever grateful to all of you.
An inquest into Dr Peake's death was held this week at Stockport Coroners' Court.
Her cause of death was given as metastatic ocular melanoma and assistant coroner, Christopher Briggs, concluded she died from natural causes. He also passed on his condolences to the family.
NHS England has been contacted for comment.
