A 59-year-old father of four from Staffordshire has been left reeling after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer, uveal melanoma, which has spread to his liver. The cancer is incurable, but a private treatment option could potentially extend his life, giving him more time with his family.
After a routine eye test at Specsavers last July, Jez Bridges was offered an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan, which revealed a small mole on his eye. Despite an initial positive prognosis, six months later, Bridges was told the cancer had spread to his liver and he was given a prognosis of between one and two years to live.
The only treatment option available to Bridges is chemosaturation, a highly intensive targeted therapy not offered on the NHS, but available privately at a cost of £40,000-£46,000 per session. According to a recent study, this treatment could make a difference in nine out of 10 patients, although it will not save Bridges' life.
A spokesperson for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) stated that their guidance concluded that chemosaturation could be used, but with some uncertainties about its safety and efficacy.
Bridges' family is now leading a fundraising campaign to raise the £200,000 needed for the private treatment, with a goal of giving him more time with his loved ones.