LOCAL MPs have stepped in to try and help get funding for a teenager so he can receive life-changing treatment for a brain tumour.
Sam John is waiting to hear if his bid to get NHS funding for treatment in America is successful.
The 16-year-old, of Albert Road, Fareham, was diagnosed with the brain tumour when he was nine years old.
But despite his condition being stable for a few years, a test earlier this month found the it had started to grow.
But since he turned 16 at the start of the year, he is no longer eligible for funding for the proton beam treatment, which is only available in the US.
If the family’s application is refused, they will have to pay out between £100,000 and £200,000 for 10 weeks’ stay and treatment at a hospital in Florida.
Fareham MP Mark Hoban said: ‘I’m very happy to take this up with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and to talk with health bosses here in Hampshire to see if we can find a way for Sam to get the treatment he needs.’
And Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt has also vowed to take up the fight after hearing about Sam.
She said: ‘If there was a constituent in my area, I would hope they wouldn’t have to go through this agony.
‘This issue with the NHS effects people in every constituency.
‘If we can support each other in getting the trust to listen, we should just get on with it.’
Since first appearing in The News last week, Sam’s family have been inundated with messages of support and people wanting to help raise the money.
Dad Steve John 44, said: ‘We’ve been out all day doing stuff for the campaign and things are frantic.
‘Things have been moving at a hectic pace.
‘We’ve been reacting at the moment, we need to be able to step back for a moment and get a handle on what’s going on.
‘It’s been fantastic that so many people want to help Sam.’
· Donations can be made online through the Paypal account admin@thinkingshrinking.co.uk
And they can also be made through LloydsTSB in Fareham, the account name is Mission for Sam, sort code 30-93-17 at account number 47629968.
There is also a website with more information at thinkingshrinking.co.uk
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