Thank you so much for continuing to sign and share Jess' petition. You are raising awareness and making a difference. We are so grateful and so would Jess have been.
The power of your signatures has led to a further new, important development. Julie Mason MP has secured a 30-minute Westminster Hall debate to take place on Wednesday 8 June at 16:00. This will be an opportunity for the case for Jessica’s Law to be aired publicly with a health minister compelled to respond at the end.
Jessica's Law is legislation requesting that after the third contact with a GP surgery about a condition/symptom a case should be elevated for review. After 5 it should be red-flagged and set procedures and guidelines followed, including a referral to a specialist. This should not be a tokenistic exercise i.e., a simple, inconclusive blood test and the patient given an all clear. The investigations need to be thorough and conclusive.
Once again, if you are able, I would ask you to message your MP requesting they attend and represent you during the debate. You may wish to remind them of the power and support of this petition, with nearly 1/4 of a million signatures.
Below is an extract of some of the notes I have sent to Julie Marson.
"This law is being proposed following the devastating death of our daughter Jessica. Jess contacted her surgery on more than 20 occasions in 5 months. None of the 4 GP’s who provided her with a consultation (17 of them conducted remotely) took her symptoms seriously. Covid precluded any physical examination, a simple inspection of her throat was not even permitted. Her requests for blood tests were granted but a raised D-Dima was dismissed after a preliminary scan and not investigated further. Blood results showing poor liver function were left for a six week follow up review – this proved fatal. She was told for months she was suffering from Long Covid despite two negative coronavirus tests. She was finally diagnosed with cancer, following a private referral, on the 26th of November. Her dependency on oxygen from this date meant she did not leave the hospital or ever return home. Jess discovered that she had stage 4 adenocarcinoma with an unknown primary. It had spread throughout her body, to her spine, liver, stomach, lungs and lymph nodes. This experience has shattered our world and prevented an intelligent, kind, vibrant and much-valued member of our society from living.
Devastatingly, had someone taken the initiative to closely review Jess’ case, and examine the evidence, cancer screening would have been an obvious requirement. A consultant recently said to us ‘if a diagnosis can not be made from initial tests then not enough tests are being carried out’. For Jess, a request to be referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist was laughed off. Letters written to the surgery listing her symptoms, including dramatic weight loss and vomiting were ignored. Jess felt powerless and distressed. She tried, so hard, to be heard and to be taken seriously. It was heart-breaking watching her deterioration. We have repeatedly said that when people are at their lowest ebb they do not possess the stamina to fight the system, nor should they have to. Many GP’s are acting as gatekeepers protecting the NHS’ precious resources. A patient’s age, socio-economic background, gender and race should not hoodwink GP’s into ignoring aggressive symptoms and deciding who deserves care and who does not. This situation is inexcusable.
Our petition created in Jess’ name ‘Increase the awareness and diagnosis of cancer in young adults’ has highlighted the scale of the problem, in young people in particular, not receiving the care they deserve. Jess is not an isolated case. Countless people have come forward to tell us the story of their young family members who have had their lives curtailed by a late or non-existent cancer diagnosis. The scale of support required is unimaginable. The occurrence of females in their late twenties is deeply troubling. Being told you are too young for cancer has been happening for years and is simply not acceptable, especially in 2022. As previously mentioned Jess’ symptoms were explained away with a Long Covid diagnosis (without ever believing she’d had it or even testing positive for Coronavirus). The explanations given to other patients for poor health are endless; irritable bowel syndrome, a pulled muscle, fatigue, stress, migraine…
We are told “by the summer of 2021, there were 102 live rapid diagnostic centre pathways across hospitals in England and a further 98 in development, compared to just 12 in March 2020.” This all sounds excellent in theory, but a GP still needs to refer a patient (it is doubtful Jess would ever have been referred). Even in her last month, when we were pushing and suggesting cancer, her GPs dismissed it.
The Health and Social Care Committee’s review into cancer services published on the 5th of April concluded
“The single most effective way to improve overall survival rates would be to diagnose more cancers earlier. Diagnosing bowel cancer at stage 1 means that 90% of people will live for five years compared to just 10% of people diagnosed at stage 4.”
“CRUK stated that “the importance of reducing the incidence of advanced cancer and meaningfully improving early diagnosis cannot be overstated”.
The pivotal role General Practice Doctors play in diagnosing patients early can not be overstated. It is no longer acceptable for people to be brushed aside because they are not deemed worthy of diagnostic testing and referrals. All lives matter and patients must be accorded the time, space and physical contact to voice their concerns when presenting with recurrent and progressively aggressive symptoms. Listening and acting are key.
In honour of Jess, a beautiful person inside and out, Jessica’s Law needs to be implemented."