A helping hand for jemma

The end of August last year my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of an unknown primary which completely threw us all and brought our worlds crashing down.

Since this diagnosis jemma has become quite poorly which the high dosage of chemo isn’t helping, due to this her partner Aaran has had to give up work and become her full time carer.

For people who don’t know Jemma she has 2 daughters Keira and Cerys who are currently preparing to sit very important exams (GCSE’s and college Exams this year)

The stress from all of this has been intense for everyone.

Jemma has lost her hair now and along with this has also lost her eyebrows and eyelashes which for a 37 year old is hard to come to terms with and has knocked her confidence massively.

Nobody ever expects this to happen to them at such a young age, so nothing financially is in place.

I’m here hoping I can ease some of this financial burden for my sister and her family during this horrendous time, I would like to give Jemma the opportunity to buy a nice wig and get some permanent eyebrows so she would feel a little more confident in herself.

She will need mobility aids for long term as she already requires a wheelchair to get around and will soon need to move her bedroom downstairs so she is able to access the bathroom without having to battle a flight of stairs each time.

I would also like to raise funds to open up a door for alternate medicines which I have researched a lot and will not rule out as an option.

All of these things come at a price and unfortunately a price that my sister or any of us for that matter just don’t have, so I’m here asking for any donation big or small to help me ease at least one of the burdens my beautiful sister is facing ❤️

Here is Jemma’s story in her words.

Sunday 27th August 2023 the date that changed my life forever. Since early June I’d been visiting my GP and even had a few A&E visits also in relation to pains and odd symptoms I’d been having, each and every time to be turned away being told a medley of differing excuses ‘your too young for a scan’ ‘you need to take these antidepressants’ and the house favourite being to blame it on what’s already there ‘it’s just another thyroid symptom’. Saturday the 26th I’d had enough and reached complete breaking point. I wasn’t keeping food down, constantly throwing up and spent most of my day folded over in agony. After calling 111 I got an emergency appointment to see a doctor (as it was the weekend) to this day I wish I could remember that woman’s name finally someone took me seriously, she made a call to AAU at the JR who were initially trying to send me to familiar old A&E but she had none of it she fought my case and explained as her patient she wouldn’t except me going anywhere but the AAU. It was decided I’d go up first thing Sunday morning. I was oddly excited to finally be getting some answers but at the same time nervous as to what those answers might be. Long story long after a few hours of bloods and scans we heard those dreaded words the ones you never believe you’ll hear until you do and even then you don’t want to believe it. Aaran was with me and we both sensed the news was somber. You have cancer. I just remember holding him so close and so tight my mind filling with all the fears and worries you could imagine then suddenly a wave of calm and my mind filled with all my loved ones,omg how would I tell them? how can I tell my babies? I had to call my parents and tell them over the phone as they’d only just arrived in wales for a holiday. I called my sister who drove to the hospital where I told her and once the entire immediate family knew we told my girls so they were surrounded by love when they found out.

The journey from then until now had been harder then I’d ever imagined and I know there’s still harder days to come but my amazing friends and family keep me in check and I thank my lucky stars for them every day.

Diagnosis wise Initially I was told there was a substantial amount of disease located all over my upper body specifically my lungs, liver, adrenal glands (kidneys) and a lymph node near my heart. I was put on a course of intravenous chemotherapy pretty much straight away by my oncologist. After this first course I had some more in detailed scans which revealed disease present in my bones also in my sternum, hips and spine. My second round of chemo showed that the cancer in my upper body hadn’t grown at all which was good, but the cancer in my bones had, which was bad of course. After some deliberation and jumping through various hoops my oncologist got me on a chemotherapy tablet which is pretty unique it’s a trialed but very new medication. I’m the first person in Oxford to have managed to get on it and currently the only person in Oxfordshire to be on it. But as with these things they often come at a price I’d managed to keep hold of my hair during the intravenous chemo by using a cold cap but being unable to do so with tablets I’ve sadly lost my hair now, eyelashes and eye brows following suit.

We’d decided as a family to try and keep as much of this journey as private as possible mostly for the sake of the children but recognise when helping hands are needed.