Updated
Updated · STV News · Aug 18
Cancer Survivor Erin Lavery Faces £8,000 Fertility Bill After Stage 3 Lymphoma Treatment
Updated
Updated · STV News · Aug 18

Cancer Survivor Erin Lavery Faces £8,000 Fertility Bill After Stage 3 Lymphoma Treatment

3 articles · Updated · STV News · Aug 18

Summary

  • Erin Lavery, 23, says she must pay about £8,000 to preserve her fertility after treatment for stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma left her in menopause.
  • NHS funding was denied because egg preservation would happen after cancer treatment rather than before it, even though later tests showed she might still be able to preserve eggs.
  • Lavery, from Cambuslang, was diagnosed in August 2024 after more than a year of symptoms were attributed to low iron, then underwent six months of chemotherapy and a month of radiotherapy.
  • Now cancer-free, she is campaigning for policy change, arguing support available before treatment should also cover survivors who discover fertility options only afterward.
  • Scottish public health minister Maree Todd said cases are considered individually and the government will soon set out a review of IVF services.

Insights

Could new, less toxic cancer therapies force the NHS to finally rewrite its rigid fertility funding rules?
Why does surviving cancer come with an £8,000 penalty for young women wanting to become mothers?