A CANCER patient forced to pay for pioneering treatment in Germany has called on the NHS to ensure no-one else has to go through the same ordeal.

Janet Ashmore says patients from other countries receive Government funding to travel for the treatment she had to pay for herself.

And the 56-year-old is now calling on health bosses to ensure future British patients are treated differently than her.

Mrs Ashmore, as well as her friends and family, had to raise about £18,500 to fund brain tumour treatment privately, because the procedure was not available in the UK.

She had asked NHS North Staffordshire to help her get treatment at the Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre in Munich, but the pleas were refused.

The mother-of-two, from Biddulph, said: "When I got there, I was the only patient from Europe who didn't get Government help to pay for treatment.

"It made me ashamed to be British. I was speaking to patients from Spain, Turkey and Sweden who were all getting the treatment at no cost to themselves and they were shocked I had to pay for it myself.Now it is important to help the next generation and make sure other people don't have to go through the same thing."

Mrs Ashmore was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2006. She underwent an operation to try to reduce the tumour, which had been growing undiagnosed for 10 years.

But, because it was wrapped around the optic nerve, it could not be treated with radiotherapy, which would have also damaged surrounding cells and was likely to render her blind.

The 32 sessions of proton therapy she underwent in Germany over October and November targeted the tumour directly, without damaging the cells.

And a follow-up scan has revealed the tumour has not grown and no other cells have been damaged.

Now Mrs Ashmore is waiting for a check-up in July to find out if the tumour is shrinking.

If the procedure is successful, the tumour will now shrink naturally.

She said: "I couldn't believe how much help I got from family, friends and the local community.

"It is heartwarming to get that support, especially when the NHS does not seem to be behind you."

Husband Allen, aged 56, said: "I'm relieved Janet has had the treatment. Now it is just waiting to find out if it has worked. We are so thankful to friends and family and all the people who supported us. It has meant such a lot to us."

The Ben Howard Cancer Appeal donated £4,000 to Mrs Ashmore, an initial £1,000 to help her set up her fund and £3,000 to pay for accommodation in Germany.

Trustee Carol Howard, from Oakhill, said: "When you have got a severe illness there is nowhere to turn for money."

An NHS North Staffordshire spokesman said he could not discuss individual cases, but added: "As a primary care trust with responsibility to provide healthcare services for 210,000 people, with finite resources, we cannot commission every service.

"We do not make reimbursements, retrospectively, to individual patients."

Cancer experiment first: See Page 12