Mollie Mulheron, a 28-year-old language academy owner from Padiham, is leading a campaign to change how the NHS handles fertility preservation for young cancer survivors. Her advocacy follows a personal experience where she was denied funded egg freezing treatment after recovering from stage four blood cancer.
Women who undergo chemotherapy often face significant risks to their fertility. Standard treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery can damage the ovarian reserve, which is the total supply of egg cells a woman has remaining. While the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises offering cryopreservation to those facing infertility due to medical conditions, access to this care varies across the United Kingdom.
Urgent Treatment Prevented Egg Freezing
Mulheron first noticed she was ill while travelling in the Galapagos Islands after university. Upon returning home, doctors discovered a large tumour that was pressing against her heart and left lung. She was diagnosed with stage four blood cancer and required immediate intervention.
The standard process for egg freezing on the NHS can take up to three weeks to complete. However, Mulheron stated that her cancer was too aggressive to allow for this delay. She underwent approximately 800 hours of chemotherapy to save her life, leaving no window for fertility preservation before treatment began.
After her recovery, doctors at St James’s Hospital in Leeds initially indicated that she could access fertility preservation services. However, after moving to Padiham, Mulheron was informed by the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board that she no longer met the eligibility criteria for funded treatment.
Postcode Lottery and Policy Gaps
Mulheron described the situation as a “postcode lottery,” where access to care depends on geographic location and local interpretation of national guidelines. She argued that it is unfair for survivors to lose access to fertility protection simply because they were deemed no longer eligible after their cancer was in remission.
She has taken her case to Parliament, urging for the NICE guidance to become mandatory rather than advisory. Currently, local NHS bodies have discretion in how they interpret these recommendations, leading to inconsistencies in patient care. Mulheron believes this flexibility creates a system where some patients are left without essential reproductive options.
Her own medical outlook has worsened since her diagnosis. She reported that her ovarian reserve had more than halved in a single year. Medical professionals have warned that she is likely to experience early menopause, raising fears that she may not be able to have children in the future without intervention.
“I would like to have some time… just to rebuild my life,” Mulheron said. She expressed frustration at the pressure to start a family immediately after surviving cancer, noting that she wants the option to preserve her fertility for when she is ready.
She has launched a petition calling for better protection of young cancer survivors’ fertility. The campaign highlights the emotional and physical toll of navigating a healthcare system that she feels fails to support patients through the transition from active treatment to survivorship.
A spokesperson for the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board acknowledged Mulheron’s concerns. They stated that their decisions align with the current Assisted Conception policy for the region. However, the board confirmed they are collaborating with Greater Manchester and Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Boards to review clinical commissioning policies. Assisted conception services have been identified as a priority in this review, particularly in light of updated national guidance.
Source: BBC
