My Story
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. All the money I raise will help fund invaluable research and to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. Sadly, so many of us know someone who has been, or is, continually affected by cancer, and with it targeting both myself as well as my dear Dad (he's thankfully been in remission a good while), I long for the day when a cure for all cancers is found. My amazing friend Karrie is running The Great South run on Sunday 19th October 2025, in aid of my fundraising efforts for Cancer Research. Please donate what you can towards her incredible feat for which I’m incredibly grateful. As many of you know, after five and a half years of being in remission from my original breast cancer diagnosis in 2016 (aged 33), and despite still receiving a plethora of ongoing preventative treatments from that point on, in November 2021 I was devastated to be told that the cancer had returned in my liver and spine and is now stage 4 and incurable - yes, terminal. This was despite previous invasive surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy, bone strengthening infusions and continued exercise too. After having dared to dream that I was finally clear of the awful disease and had started to look forward to the future, I’ve instead been propelled back into the never-ending cycle of hospital appointments, procedures, injections, infusions, tablets, tests and scans and this time it’s indefinitely. So after another six months of gruelling IV chemo in 2022 (after having already endured six months of chemo in 2016), I’m now on an indefinite palliative treatment plan – as all my treatment will now be. This is because stage 4, metastatic cancer (i.e. a cancer that has spread / reoccurred from its original primary source) is not currently curable and can only be managed to delay the inevitable progression and eventual demise. So, in a bid to twist this sick turn of events into some sort of positive as best I could, I quickly decided to focus on my fundraising. So after some previous positive news in Feb 2024 that the cancer in my bones looked to be sleeping and the liver still remained clear since my 2022 chemo, the can results in late May 2024 shockingly showed a potential spread in my hip and pelvis. After a small treatment tweak, a change of Oncologist and a re-scan in Aug, the spread was indeed concluded. This ‘line two’ treatment that I'm currently on is a lot more gruelling in terms of side effects as it’s targeted immunotherapy in conjunction with a chemotherapy drug that can have a lot of brutal side effects. It put me in hospital in Jan 2025 with a horrendous searing hot burning under skin pain all throughout my body any time I moved, which lasted for over three weeks. So that was pretty horrific. But thankfully this new chemo seems to be working and has shown continued stability since August 2024. My hair has thinned but not all shed thankfully and I'm learning to manage the tough side effects too. I also know that I'm incredibly lucky to have the support and care of family and loved ones that help me on this journey too. And for that I’m eternally grateful. There are two more treatment lines after this one that are specific to my cancer type. And a few more ‘less likely to work effectively’ options after that. And then it’s clinical trials as a last resort when we’ve run out of options, but only if by then my body is strong enough to be allowed to take part in them. If you’re able to donate anything at all in support of my bid to achieve this, and to help all of us affected by Cancer (far too many of us), and to help fund that golden cure that I’ll never stop dreaming of, I’d be incredibly grateful. In summary, in order to stay alive, every quarter I endure; - 4 x IV chemo chest infusions - 1 x Cannular in chest with dye injection - 1 x Heart scan - Echocardiogram - 1 x CT body scan - 4 x chest needles to take blood - 3 x tummy pellet hormone suppressing injections - 2 x bone strengthening injections - 3 x Oncologist review & scan results - 270 tablets - 15 medical appointments across four different hospitals and doctors surgeries. - 12 self administered tummy injections But it’s thanks to the generosity of people like yourselves, raising funds for charities like Cancer Research that have resulted in such treatment lines being available to me, that work to keep me here to make more memories and enjoy more time. For which I’m incredibly grateful. So the more money we raise, the more we’re supporting the invaluable research for ALL cancers that could one day lead to a cure — let’s just continue to hope that it’s sooner rather than later. Because no child should face the prospect of losing a parent before they're even grown up themselves, as my poor boy now does. Thank you for your support — it’s very much appreciated. Lucy. x
