Ashford cancer patient Gemma Crispin sacked by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) while undergoing treatment

A mum battling aggressive breast cancer says she cried more over being sacked by the NHS than she did during months of gruelling treatment.

Gemma Crispin, 52, from Ashford, lost her job after almost 10 months off sick, having undergone chemotherapy and a mastectomy.

The former paediatric nurse, who worked for the NHS for 16 years in total, says she had always intended to return to work once she recovered.

But Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) dismissed her in April, concluding it could no longer accommodate her absence.

“I probably cried more about what was going on with that situation than I did all the time I was unwell,” Gemma, a mum of three, told KentOnline.

“I feel like cancer has robbed so much from me, and it's taken my job, too.”