Tough economic times are forcing many people to make difficult financial decisions, but for Victoria Jones, the crippling costs involved in travelling for specialist cancer care became a matter of life and death.
Her income had been reduced by her inability to work as a prison officer, but living on the Isle of Wight meant that during the height of the holiday season, the round-trip for the chemotherapy that doctors hoped would save her life often cost more than £200.
Victoria, 22, had already given up the independence of her own flat and moved in with her fiance’s family. Although she only had to pay for food and a share of the utility bills, she was still struggling to cover the cost of the fortnightly journeys to Southampton Hospital.
