Leeds woman's campaign for full body scan before cancer 'all clear' reaches 75k signatures

The online petition was launched by friends of Gemma Sisson, 39, who was diagnosed with incurable secondary cancer just months after being given the verdict of 'no evidence of active disease'.

Gemma, who is from Leeds, was given the verdict after a scan of the area where the cancer was originally identified - instead of a full body scan to detect any spread of the disease.

Along with her close friend Daniel Clark-Bland, she is spearheading the campaign to change NHS practice and update NICE guidance, encouraging supporters to tweet Health Secretary Matt Hancock and write to MPs to push the campaign forward.

Daniel, 34, said: "The petition has gained huge momentum, 73,000 signatures which is fantastic

“In the comments of the petition, there are hundreds of people echoing similar circumstances to Gemma, where they’ve been given an all clear without a full body scan, before then being given just a few weeks to live.

“We urge people to sign and share this petition and write to the health secretary, but also to talk about this failure, this gap."

Under current NHS practice, not all cancer patients receive full-body scans before an 'all clear' verdict due to funding restrictions and the potential harmful effects of the scans.

But Daniel accepts that this check may not be a full-body scan for all patients and could include other diagnostic tools such as a PET scan.

He added: “We’ve had messages from a few people to say their family members have had the all-clear, but they’ve insisted they get a full body scan.

“Even if we can’t make a change to the guidance, we hope that as long as people are talking about it, we can make a change by proxy.”

Gemma's health has sadly deteriorated and due to unmanageable pain, she is now being cared for at a Sue Ryder Hospice in Leeds.

Daniel said: "The hospice team are absolutely phenomenal.

"I visit her as much as possible and she has her partner Ricky who is stoic and constant, which is just what she needs.

“Gemma is losing mobility in her body and finds it hard to type, but she still has a read through all the updates we post.

“Even though she is in pain, she is still pushing really hard for people to sign the petition.

“It’s so important to Gemma that something changes and this isn’t overlooked."

NHS England was contacted for comment.