Vanja Sommerseth got one of the most common forms of cancer. What appeared to be a small, harmless wart on the nose turned out to be the type of cancer basal cell cancer. She was denied the best treatment available in Norway. news has previously told that Vanja went to Denmark on her own initiative and received the treatment there. She paid the sum of NOK 55,000 herself, and subsequently applied for a refund of the outlay. Now she has been rejected. The reason is that the treatment she received in Denmark is available in Norway. – Very strange Sommerseth thinks the foundation makes little sense. – I think it’s very strange, because the reason for the refusal is that the treatment is available in Norway, but I didn’t get it. I think that is a very strange argument, she says. TREATMENT: Vanja Sommerseth with an ulcer on her nose after cancer. She is very satisfied with the treatment she received in Denmark. Photo: private In order to get the best treatment, called Mohs surgery, she had to go abroad, even though the method exists in Norway. The reason was Sommerseth’s postcode. – If I had lived in Drammen, I could have got it. But because I live in Bø in Vesterålen, I had to have regular surgery where the result is not as good, Sommerseth has previously told news. Normal surgery in this case is that a larger piece of Vanja’s nose would have been surgically removed. Several have reacted to the practice. The Directorate of Health believes that it is fundamentally a problem that there are different health services depending on where you live in the country. The patient and user ombudsman does the same. Helse Sør-Aust has also taken the initiative to make this a national treatment offer. Who gets the responsibility for that is up to the health authorities, they clarified. The cancer association: – Hårreisande Helfo has paid back Sommerseth around NOK 12,000, which is what they believe the treatment would have cost in Norway. The Foreign Office has refused the application to be refunded the rest of the amount of NOK 55,000. Brage Larsen Sollund, district manager for Northern Norway in the Cancer Association, does not understand the refusal of repayment. – We think this is hair-raising. SHOULD CHOOSE: – There is free choice of hospital. Then one should have the opportunity to choose this type of treatment. This is a good treatment that everyone deserves to receive. Photo: Hans Ludvig Andreassen / news In Sommerseth’s case, the feedback was that those who did this treatment only accept patients from Helse Sør-Aust. Complained further, Rikshospitalet explained that the treatment is very resource-intensive. That is the core of why so few patients receive the offer. The alternative is a treatment that removes the entire nasal wing. The Cancer Association has been involved in the case from before. They have their own legal aid service where they help patients and relatives. Larsen Sollund states that the refusal has been forwarded to the appeal board for processing abroad. – It boils inside me when you don’t get treatment because you have the wrong postal address, and which at the same time is not offered in HelseNord. It doesn’t work. Referring to the land grant Sollund believes that Sommerseth is rejected on the basis of geography, and that she should first of all receive the treatment in Norway, as she would have if she lived in Oslo. – We believe it is illegal discrimination. We are concerned that it will develop into a better offer in certain parts of the country, and those who can afford to pay for treatment abroad. The Foreign Office has been anticipating the criticism. They have no comment, but say: – We cannot comment on confidential information. If the relevant party has received a decision from us, the grounds will appear there. Sommerseth is concerned that those who come after her, with the same diagnosis, get help to find the right treatment and have the expenses covered. – I think it should be the same for everyone, regardless of whether you live in Northern Norway or Eastern Norway. One should have the opportunity for the same treatment, Sommerseth believes.
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Got basal cell cancer and was refused Mohs surgery in Norway – will not be reimbursed the costs – news Nordland
