A cancer patient who was prevented from travelling for treatment due to a bureaucratic error could have better recourse going to Britain instead, according to a veterans’ advocate.

As reported yesterday in The Royal Gazette, Cherrie Woods was mistakenly arrested in February as she tried to board a flight to the United States so she could have radiation therapy at the Lahey Clinic.

Because she had been charged in Magistrates’ Court with a cannabis offence, Ms Woods, who has stage 2 cervical cancer, was required to obtain special permission to travel, in accordance with strict US drug laws — although she has not been convicted of an offence.

That waiver was revoked after she was detained over an arrest warrant that the courts had issued last year, when she failed to attend a hearing because she was undergoing chemotherapy.

Last month, the court conceded that her warrant should have been discharged after Ms Woods later made good on her court appearance.

She and her fiance, who rely on financial assistance, have been unable to get compensation, and face restarting the painstaking process of applications and referrals for her treatment to continue.

However, Carol Everson, a welfare case worker with the Bermuda Legion, suggested one possible alternative: travelling to Britain to get the same treatment under the National Health Service.

“A lot of people don’t seem to realise they can be accepted in the UK, where every facility at the NHS should be available to her as a Bermudian,” Ms Everson said.

“She should have no trouble travelling there. They will need a referral from their doctor in Bermuda, and a doctor who is willing to accept her in the UK.”

Financial assistance might cover the cost of air fare, Ms Everson added, which would be substantially greater for a trip to Britain — but the cost of treatment should be lower as a private patient under the NHS.

Added Ms Everson: “There should be other hospitals in Massachusetts that could do it for less, but it seems that Bermudian doctors want to refer people to the Lahey Clinic.”

Out of work and with little money in the bank, Ms Woods had been accepted by the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association charity, which would have covered the cost of her Lahey procedure.

Veronica Harvey, executive director of the LCCA, told The Royal Gazette that patients often preferred the US because of the short journey.

“In cases when people cannot travel to the US, we have found facilities in the UK,” she said.

“We are happy to assist with medical costs, but air travel and other costs in the UK might be higher.”

In the meantime, Ms Woods said she had spent yesterday with a hospital social worker who was “going to try and get my appointment at the Lahey rescheduled”.

“I am still concerned about the waiver, which I will need before they can do all that,” she said.

“You can’t talk to anybody directly about that. You have to do it all online.”