Support Needed for People with Spinal Cord Injuries Caused by Cancer

People who have been paralysed following life-changing spinal cord injuries due to cancer are reporting lack of care and feeling abandoned after their cancer treatment.

According to national charity Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), someone sustains a spinal cord injury in the UK every two hours. While a spinal cord injury may be caused by trauma, such as a road traffic accident, a fall, or violence, many people sustain the injury due to medical reasons.

With an ageing population and with increased safety precautions in vehicles, the majority of spinal cord injuries are now caused by illness or disease.  

One of the many medical causes of spinal cord injuries is cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, approximately 12,100 people are diagnosed with tumours in the brain or central nervous system each year. However, this does not include other types of cancer that can spread to the spinal cord, and many more people than this will sustain spinal cord injuries due to cancer or its treatment.

Spinal cord injuries can have life-changing and permanent impacts, with effects including paralysis, chronic nerve pain, and loss of bladder, bowel, and sexual function. Many people with spinal cord injuries require specialist rehabilitation, as well as ongoing specialist care in order to live a fulfilled life.

But people who have sustained spinal cord injuries due to cancer are reporting that they have been left without appropriate support for their disability once their cancer has been treated.

“Ultimately, my life was on hold for a year and a half,” said 52-year-old David Bateman (pictured above), from Halstead in Essex.

“I was just existing rather than living due to not being referred to spinal cord injury specialists when I first became paralysed. What I have witnessed firsthand is the waste of valuable resources because in the early years, I was looked after by the wrong people and the wrong departments.

“Now I just feel immense frustration at how much time I’ve lost because I’d had no neuro rehab specialist intervention, input, or support.”

The SIA, which supports people affected by spinal cord injury and the hundreds of thousands of people who are their families, friends and carers, claims people with spinal cord injuries often face a postcode lottery when it comes to accessing the vital help and support that they need to live a fulfilled life.

“Although people are receiving the cancer treatment they need, all too often we see people left with life-changing disabilities without the right support,” states the SIA.

“Spinal cord injuries can impact every aspect of a person’s life, and it is essential that people are given the help they need to adapt and return to living the life they choose.”

To find out more visit https://www.spinal.co.uk/