"I Traveled to Turkey for a £200K Liver Surgery After NHS Denied Me Treatment – My Life Depends on It Before I Turn 32"

A WOMAN with a rare cancer has been forced to fly to Turkey to get life-saving surgery after the operation was denied on the NHS for being too risky.

After being diagnosed with a rare disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in January 2024, Flo Moffat-Charles, 31, was told she would eventually need a .

Flo Moffat-Charles, pictured with her husband Josh, has been forced to fly to Turkey to get life-saving treatment Credit: Instagram/ @florencemoffatcharles She was diagnosed with a rare liver disease in 2024 that means she will need a liver transplant Credit: Instagram/ @florencemoffatcharles

But when Flo was also diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of , she learned that a liver transplant may not be possible on the .

Due to the location of her cancer, the NHS deemed a transplant to be too risky and the chance for Flo to have surgery in the disappeared.

But refusing to give up hope, Flo and her husband Josh Moffat-Charles, 32, decided to go to Turkey for treatment despite the £200,000 price tag, the Independent reported.

Josh said: “We’re not willing to just sort of roll over and take what’s available to us here.

Flo was also sadly diagnosed with an aggressive form of bile cancer last year Credit: Gofundme/ Josh Moffat-Charles Due to the location of Flo’s cancer, the NHS deemed that a liver transplant would be too risky Credit: Gofundme/ Josh Moffat-Charles

“Without a transplant, the only option left here in the UK will be palliative treatment.”

But with a transplant, “she could gain everything. More life, more adventures and more time with those who love her. A future,” he added.

Flo had been experiencing fatigue, itchy skin and nausea before she was diagnosed with PSC, but she put this down to and a busy work schedule.

PSC is an uncommon chronic liver disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver progressively decrease in size due to inflammation and scarring

Most people have few or no symptoms for many years, but those who have early symptoms of the disease may experience tiredness and some abdominal discomfort in the right upper abdomen.

Later symptoms of PSC include itching, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, known as jaundice, and less commonly episodes of fever, shaking and chills.

It affects around 10,000 people in the UK and comes with an increased risk of liver and bile duct cancer – the cancer Flo was diagnosed with last year.

There is no cure or treatment for PSC, only medication to manage the symptoms and Flo was told she would eventually need a liver transplant.

While having tests for a transplant in January 2025 at University College Hospital London (UCLH), a doctor discovered cancerous cells in the bile ducts and tumours and diagnosed her with cholangiocarcinoma.

The cancer has a five- year survival rate of six to nine per cent.

Flo said: “Unfortunately from that point, the route we were going down looking at transplant there was suddenly a non-option because we had to deal with the cancer.”

She added: “I could only focus on what was in front of me. I must have been on autopilot, because I probably didn’t take in quite how big this was, and I perhaps still had a blind optimism.”

Flo had been experiencing fatigue, itchy skin and nausea before she was diagnosed with PSC Credit: Gofundme/ Josh Moffat-Charles The couple have decided that Flo will have a liver transplant in Turkey and Josh may be the donor Credit: Gofundme/ Josh Moffat-Charles

Flo spent the next year undergoing chemotherapy, but by May this year despite scans showing no cancer progression, she was still not eligible for a transplant on the NHS.

She said that the NHS has to calculate the and risks of a liver transplant, explaining that there is an “apprehension” to give a patient with cancer and PSC a transplant over fears the cancer could spread.

Flo added that it’s suggested a transplant patient in recovery would struggle to also undergo chemotherapy.

But determined to have the best chance of survival, Flo and Josh have decided to seek treatment in , with her husband possibly acting as the liver donor.

There are added complications with Josh’s liver, however, and the couple are now considering finding another donor.

They have launched a fundraiser to try and raise for the £200,000 surgery.

Flo said: “I wish that this was a surgery that I could have in the UK around my family, friends nearby, just being on home ground.

“It naturally puts your mind at ease, but having gone out to Turkey already and seeing the hospital and meeting the surgeon, I do feel very safe there as well.”

She described the UK guidelines around liver transplants as a “hurdle”, suggesting that there should be “greater flexibility” for certain cancers if the patient is making progress.

But Flo added: “I’ve been responding well to treatment in that it’s keeping me stable and actually right now I feel the strongest and most well that I’ve felt in a long time.”

AMMF, a that specialises in cholangiocarcinoma, explained people with the cancer can have successful transplants in “rigorously selected patients when performed in highly specialised centres.”

Helen Morement, Chief Executive of AMMF – The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity said: “Transplantation surgery for those with PSC who go on to develop cholangiocarcinoma is very new here in the UK and is following a strict eligibility protocol that’s in line with most international guidelines to ensure that evidence can be built around its effectiveness.”

The couple are now trying to raise money to pay for the £200,00 surgery Credit: Gofundme/ Josh Moffat-Charles

“All of us at AMMF are deeply concerned to learn that Florence and her husband are having to look to Turkey to secure the surgery she needs.

“Our ‘Rethink Liver Cancer’ campaign is highlighting the need for a network of centres of expertise for cholangiocarcinoma within the NHS to encourage earlier diagnosis of this cancer and improve access to all possible treatments for patients like Florence.”

A UCLH spokesperson said: “We recognise that decisions relating to organ transplantation can be deeply distressing for patients and families.

“Donor organs are extremely limited and all transplant candidates are assessed against nationally agreed clinical criteria. These are designed to ensure that organs are allocated fairly and in the best interests of all patients.

“We will continue to care for Flo and support her through her treatment.”

Sun also approached UCLH for comment.

An NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson said: “Sadly there are not enough organs from deceased donors in the UK. If someone receives an organ, it means someone else will not receive it. The transplant community works together to try and create fair policies which prioritise people who could benefit.

“Every transplant centre has to ensure that each patient they recommend for transplant can achieve satisfactory outcomes, to make the best use of precious donated organs.”