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'Removed' cancer woman gets worse | |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Supporters of a dying Ghanaian woman, controversially removed from the UK, say her condition has deteriorated rapidly because she cannot get the drugs she needs. | |
Cancer sufferer Ama Sumani, 39, was taken from a Cardiff hospital and flown home after her visa expired. | |
She needs hospital treatment to prolong her life but her friends say she is not getting what she needs in Ghana. | She needs hospital treatment to prolong her life but her friends say she is not getting what she needs in Ghana. |
They fear her life will be cut short unless she can return to the UK. | They fear her life will be cut short unless she can return to the UK. |
Immigration officials removed Mrs Sumani from the University of Wales Hospital in January. | |
She had been undergoing dialysis after being diagnosed with malignant myeloma which damaged her kidneys and was also receiving other drugs. | She had been undergoing dialysis after being diagnosed with malignant myeloma which damaged her kidneys and was also receiving other drugs. |
On her return to Ghana there were concerns she would not be able to afford to pay the costs of getting dialysis and an anonymous donor from the UK stepped in the pay for three months of treatment. | On her return to Ghana there were concerns she would not be able to afford to pay the costs of getting dialysis and an anonymous donor from the UK stepped in the pay for three months of treatment. |
Janet Simmons has helped to set up the appeal for Ama Sumani | Janet Simmons has helped to set up the appeal for Ama Sumani |
Since her removal, her supporters in Wales have been campaigning to allow the mother-of-two to return to the UK to continue her treatment. | |
But there are fears that Mrs Sumani's health is deteriorating rapidly because they say essential drugs are not available in Ghana. | But there are fears that Mrs Sumani's health is deteriorating rapidly because they say essential drugs are not available in Ghana. |
Janet Simmons, a Cardiff-based supporter, said: "The Home Office didn't take her medical records with her. All they had was a chart, and the doctors in Ghana are having to start again." | Janet Simmons, a Cardiff-based supporter, said: "The Home Office didn't take her medical records with her. All they had was a chart, and the doctors in Ghana are having to start again." |
She said Mrs Sumani also needed drugs which were not available to her. | She said Mrs Sumani also needed drugs which were not available to her. |
"She's really having a tough time," said Mrs Simmons. | "She's really having a tough time," said Mrs Simmons. |
"She is in such agony, she is swollen, she can't breathe, she has infection. She is in a really bad way. | "She is in such agony, she is swollen, she can't breathe, she has infection. She is in a really bad way. |
"I don't understand why they couldn't keep her here." | "I don't understand why they couldn't keep her here." |
She said a fundraising campaign was underway to help pay for Mrs Sumani's treatment and they hoped to appeal for her return to the UK. | She said a fundraising campaign was underway to help pay for Mrs Sumani's treatment and they hoped to appeal for her return to the UK. |
"Ama is feeling terrible and all she can say is that her life is in the hands of God," she added. | "Ama is feeling terrible and all she can say is that her life is in the hands of God," she added. |
Mrs Sumani first came to the UK five years ago to become a student but began working as a cleaner, contravening her visa regulations. | Mrs Sumani first came to the UK five years ago to become a student but began working as a cleaner, contravening her visa regulations. |
Her case prompted widespread controversy in the UK with the Lancet medical journal calling the decision to send her home "atrocious barbarism". | Her case prompted widespread controversy in the UK with the Lancet medical journal calling the decision to send her home "atrocious barbarism". |