A woman who lost her battle against cancer was driven on by the thought she was helping others gain access to life-saving treatment, according to her husband.
Jeannie Evans, 67, successfully appealed a Shropshire County Primary Care Trust decision to charge her £35,000 to access the drug Avastin in August while Welsh patients accessed it for free at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
She was suffering from cancer of the bowel and liver, and had been given just months to live before she launched her appeal.
But despite the successful campaign, which was supported by town MP Daniel Kawczynski and featured in the Chronicle, Jeannie’s condition deteriorated before she could start a course of treatment. She died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on November 26.
More than 40 family, friends and neighbours turned out to the funeral at Shrewsbury crematorium last Tuesday (December 11) and £1,000 raised in donations at the funeral will be split between the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre Appeal and the Ward 21 Trust.
Jeannie’s husband, Fred, said she believed she was helping other cancer sufferers to access treatment which could extend their lives by up to five years.
Mr Evans said: “Jeannie was very brave – she never cried or bemoaned her luck, which I find quite amazing.
“The staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were superb and allowed us all to stay in a little flat on the site to stay with her, so we were all there when she died.”
Mr Kawczynski said: “I was very saddened to hear about the death of Mrs Evans. I would like to send her husband and family my sincere condolences.”