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| Cancer patient loses visa battle | Cancer patient loses visa battle |
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| A Ghanaian woman who came to study in Wales five years ago has been told she must return to the African country, despite being terminally ill. | A Ghanaian woman who came to study in Wales five years ago has been told she must return to the African country, despite being terminally ill. |
| Ama Sunami, 39, has been receiving dialysis at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for over a year after cancer damaged her kidneys | Ama Sunami, 39, has been receiving dialysis at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for over a year after cancer damaged her kidneys |
| Ms Sunami, whose visa has expired, said she cannot afford this care in Ghana. | Ms Sunami, whose visa has expired, said she cannot afford this care in Ghana. |
| She was taken from hospital on Wednesday. The Home Office said it was unable to comment on individual cases. | She was taken from hospital on Wednesday. The Home Office said it was unable to comment on individual cases. |
| A friend said Ms Sunami, who was taken away from the hospital on Wednesday morning by immigration officials, was due to leave on a plane back to Ghana at 1400 GMT. | |
| She left hospital in a wheelchair, was put into a van and taken away at around 0800 GMT. | She left hospital in a wheelchair, was put into a van and taken away at around 0800 GMT. |
| The cancer she is suffering from - malignant myeloma - would ordinarily be treated with a bone marrow transplant. | The cancer she is suffering from - malignant myeloma - would ordinarily be treated with a bone marrow transplant. |
| But because Ms Sunami is a foreign national she is not entitled to this on the NHS. | But because Ms Sunami is a foreign national she is not entitled to this on the NHS. |
| The dialysis treatment she has been receiving is helping to prolong her life and her last treatment was on Tuesday evening. | The dialysis treatment she has been receiving is helping to prolong her life and her last treatment was on Tuesday evening. |
| Legal status | Legal status |
| But it needs to be repeated regularly and there are concerns there are few dialysis treatment centres in Ghana. | But it needs to be repeated regularly and there are concerns there are few dialysis treatment centres in Ghana. |
| Health care there is also private but Ms Sunami said she could not afford it. | Health care there is also private but Ms Sunami said she could not afford it. |
| "Where I am staying is in a village and there is no hospital, there is only a clinic," said Ms Sunami. | "Where I am staying is in a village and there is no hospital, there is only a clinic," said Ms Sunami. |
| "That machine is only in Accra (Ghana's capital) and I do not know Accra at all." | "That machine is only in Accra (Ghana's capital) and I do not know Accra at all." |
| A friend Janet Simmons said she did not know how Ms Sunami would cope back in Ghana. | A friend Janet Simmons said she did not know how Ms Sunami would cope back in Ghana. |
| "She comes from the northern part of Ghana which is the poorest part of the country," she said. | "She comes from the northern part of Ghana which is the poorest part of the country," she said. |
| "Basically she has been sent there to die." | "Basically she has been sent there to die." |
| Ms Simmons added that her friend was a widow and a mother of two children, who were currently being looked after by members of her church in Ghana. | Ms Simmons added that her friend was a widow and a mother of two children, who were currently being looked after by members of her church in Ghana. |
| Ms Sunami is being removed from the country rather than deported because her visa expired some time ago which means she has no legal status in the UK. | Ms Sunami is being removed from the country rather than deported because her visa expired some time ago which means she has no legal status in the UK. |
| A removal means that in theory she could apply to return to the UK in the future. | A removal means that in theory she could apply to return to the UK in the future. |
| Several appeals have been made on her behalf to keep her in Wales, all of which are now exhausted, said her solicitor. | Several appeals have been made on her behalf to keep her in Wales, all of which are now exhausted, said her solicitor. |
| One which stated that she was too ill to travel home was rejected by the Border and Immigration service last May. | One which stated that she was too ill to travel home was rejected by the Border and Immigration service last May. |
| Ms Sunami said she came to Wales to study accountancy at a city college. | Ms Sunami said she came to Wales to study accountancy at a city college. |