Help Steph Beat Cancer

Hello, for those of you that don’t know me, I’m Steph and I am 34 years old, wife to Ben and Mum to two children; Isla who is 4 and Finlay who is 1 (all pictured above at our recent wedding). 

In March this year (2022) I went to hospital suffering from terrible headaches and after finding a tumour in my brain, I received a full body scan which revealed tumours in my liver, lungs and colon. I was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. 

Receiving a stage 4 cancer diagnosis was a massive shock. I had only given birth to Finlay 8 months prior and do not smoke, drink, eat meat and I exercise regularly. I try to do everything I can to stay fit and healthy. 

After the initial shock and devastation of this life changing situation I began trying to look at everything I could do to get through this. Since March I have been receiving fortnightly rounds of very strong chemotherapy (Folfoxiri plus Avastin) to try to shrink the tumours in my lungs, liver and colon (which are gruelling) and radiotherapy (SRS) to try and kill the tumour in my brain. The side effects have been really challenging. I am also unable to continue with my job and all the while still having to take care of my two young children, without being able to drive as well. Cancer truly sucks. 

My body is responding well to the chemotherapy, but it always comes with the warning that at some point the cancer will progress or my body will no longer tolerate the chemo so I will have to look at all options.

I am extremely lucky to have private health care which has helped cover a lot of medical costs and made some drugs available that I otherwise would not be able to afford. However, there are a lot of alternative treatments that unfortunately are not covered by the NHS or private healthcare. 

I am working with an Integrative Oncologist (as well as my Clinical Oncologist) who has recommended several alternative solutions including; hyperthermia treatment via Sauna, Off-label drugs such as Metformin via the Care Oncology Clinic, a whole host of supplements, a specific diet, weekly acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Vitamin C infusions and the list goes on. 

Given the age of my young family and my desire to defy the odds and heal. I am doing everything I can to give myself every chance, but these treatments come at a cost which is in the thousands of pounds per month. 

I have been told I would need to do a GoFundMe by several others unfortunate enough to be in similar positions. So far I have been covering the cost, but a recent and promising treatment option has caused me to seek help. 

I recently got introduced to a couple of clinics in Germany that offer an immunotherapy based treatment via personalised cancer vaccines that have helped many other patients with metastatic disease. They work by profiling the exact DNA of my tumours to then train my body’s T cell immunity to infiltrate the cancerous cells and in combination with other immunotherapy drugs aim to control the disease. Unfortunately this treatment is not available in the UK yet and is not covered by my insurance. It’s also six-figure expensive and means regular trips to and from Germany. 

I have great family and friends around me to support me and I want to do everything I can to live as long as possible to see my kids grow up. They are THE reason to fight so hard. 

Thank you so much for your support. 

 I am forever grateful.