Former Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell has pleaded with the government to save the NHS, so that it can save more people.
The 53-year-old, who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, thinks the reason her illness was not spotted by FOUR separate doctors, was because they were all so overworked.
In her blog, Something Beginning With C, the star who played Zoe Tate in the soap, wrote a heartfelt message to MPs asking for urgent action to be taken.
She said: “Dame Tessa (Jowell) reiterated the alarming statistic that we in the UK, have the worst survival rate for cancer in Western Europe, due in part because diagnosis in cancer is too slow.”
“I know this to be true from firsthand experience – I spoke to 4 GPs in the ten days before I was rushed to A and E in an ambulance.”
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“I had had blood tests, and x-rays, couldn’t breathe easily, was struggling with acute swelling and bloating of the abdomen, but the alarming truth of the matter is, the system is bursting at the seams.”
The mum of two, who married her partner Jez Hughes, last year, continued: “I was literally dying, and almost did, but the urgency of the situation was completely missed.
“Even now, receiving treatment at a cutting edge NHS cancer centre, urgent scans are taking up to 3 weeks to come back due to the severe shortage of qualified radiographers.”
“I pray with all my heart that the NHS receives the life saving treatment it needs, so that we, all of us, might receive the life saving treatments that we need.”
More than a decade on from her role in the hit soap, Leah is thankful for the support she still gets from it.
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She said: “I have nothing but fond memories from that time, it has given me so much, and in some ways it’s still giving now. It’s still supporting me with the energy and people’s responses so it’s been nothing but a blessing.”
To read more about Leah’s journey with cancer, go to somethingbeginningwithc.com
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