Health · Healthcare & Policy · 11 hrs ago
Cancer survivor seeks NHS funding to preserve her fertility
Mollie Mulheron, a 28-year-old cancer survivor from Lancashire, is seeking NHS-funded egg freezing after chemotherapy.
Her stage four blood cancer needed urgent treatment, so she could not freeze her eggs beforehand.
Chemotherapy can damage fertility, and Mollie says her ovarian reserve has more than halved in a year; she has been told she may go through early menopause.
Her local NHS body says she does not meet its eligibility criteria for funding.
Mollie says she was told fertility protection might be available after treatment at a hospital in Leeds, but was refused funding after moving to Padiham, highlighting differences between areas.
She has started a petition calling for better protection for young cancer survivors and says she wants time to rebuild her life before deciding whether to have children.
NICE guidance says fertility preservation should be discussed, but it is not mandatory, and local NHS bodies can interpret it differently.
Several regional NHS bodies are reviewing clinical policies, but no decision on Mollie’s case or changes to funding has been announced.
Mollie Mulheron, a 28-year-old cancer survivor from Lancashire, is seeking NHS-funded egg-freezing treatment after chemotherapy.
She says her aggressive cancer meant she had to start urgent treatment before she could freeze her eggs.
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board says she does not meet its eligibility criteria for funding.
Mulheron says her ovarian reserve has more than halved in a year and she has been told she may experience early menopause.
She has started an online petition calling for better fertility protection for young cancer survivors.
- Who
- Mollie Mulheron, a 28-year-old cancer survivor from Padiham, Lancashire.
- What
- She is seeking NHS-funded egg freezing after chemotherapy and campaigning for better fertility protection for cancer survivors.
- When
- The articles were published on 9 November 2026; the date of the funding decision is not stated.
- Where
- Padiham, Lancashire; her cancer treatment was at St James Hospital in Leeds.
- Why
- She says urgent chemotherapy meant she could not freeze her eggs beforehand, and she fears losing the option to have children.
Mollie Mulheron
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
Eligibility for funding
Mollie Mulheron
She says the funding is available before chemotherapy but not afterwards, and calls this unfair.
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
The ICB says the decision is in line with its current Assisted Conception policy eligibility criteria.
Access to treatment
Mollie Mulheron
She says differing local rules create a postcode lottery and wants better protection for young cancer survivors.
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
The ICB says it is reviewing clinical commissioning policies with other regional ICBs.
Mulheron was travelling in the Galapagos Islands when she started to feel ill.
Doctors found a melon-sized tumour that she said was crushing her heart and left lung.
She underwent about 800 hours of chemotherapy and became cancer-free.
She says she was told funding for egg freezing was not available after she moved to Padiham.
- Age
- 28
- Home
- Padiham, Lancashire
- Cancer diagnosis
- Stage four blood cancer
- Chemotherapy
- Approximately 800 hours over more than 150 days
- Treatment hospital
- St James Hospital, Leeds
- Funding body
- NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board
What people are saying
It's clearly unfair because the funding is there before chemotherapy, so it doesn't make sense that it's not available now.
It does seem to be a postcode lottery that some places allow it and other postcodes don't at all
I'd like to have some time after having cancer just to rebuild my life
We are aware of the case and understand the patient's concerns, however, decisions such as this one are in line with the current eligibility criteria of the Assisted Conception policy for Lancashire and South Cumbria.