Family and friends of Reneisha Townsend, a mother of three diagnosed with stage four breast cancer a year ago, say she is not receiving the urgent care she needs at Kingston Public Hospital.

Townsend’s sister, Shanice, told Observer Online that caregivers at the Kingston-based medical facility appear to have given up on her sister, whom she described as a “fighter.”

Reneisha, whose plight was highlighted in The Observer last month, is a 37-year-old mother to three girls.

READ: Mom of three seeks support for cancer treatment

“We had her at UWI (hospital) first and she didn’t like the treatment so we moved her to KPH…Each time she comes here, they keep her the most, three days and then they send her home back. Hours a night we affi jump up and bring her back to the hospital because the breast is bleeding,” Shanice said.

Shanice added that on Monday, Reneisha was taken to the hospital to dress the wound and later had to be rushed back to the hospital because of breathing difficulties.

According to Townsend, her sister was in dire need of oxygen but was told none was available where she was being treated at the time. She alleged that the family had to wheel the patient around the hospital as there were also no porters available to help with transport.

“No porter nuh deh here fi assist wid bringing her. They sent her to do an X-ray so mommy had to be pushing her through the hospital asking where the X-ray section deh,” she said. “Mi think dem write her off because a di stage weh it reach and the fact that it (the cancer) spread,” an emotional Shanice told Observer Online.

Townsend said she just wants her sibling to get the care she needs.

“Dem anuh God. Dem cyah say she done fa. She nuh done fa because me know my sister as a fighter,” she said.

Venice Goffe, a friend of the family, alleges neglect in Reneisha’s treatment at the facility.

“It’s the way how persons are addressing her, making her feel like less than a person. She’s a human being. She’s somebody’s child, somebody’s sister, somebody’s aunt, somebody’s mother,” she said. “At the end of the day when you come to someone’s bedside, you can’t address them as if they’re nothing. When you come to administer medication to a patient you must make them feel comfortable – no matter the situation they’re going through. No matter how bad your day is, your patient now is your priority.”

Townsend’s family is now seeking to get her treatment overseas, believing she will receive better care abroad.

A crowdfunding account on the popular GoFundMe website was set up to aid Townsend’s cancer treatment last month. So far, she has received US$8,125 toward her US$50,000 goal.