Help Amy Access Urgent Treatment

Hello, my name is Maeve, and I’ve had the privilege of calling Amy my friend for almost 20 years. Amy (also known as Commander Amy Gilmore MBE) is one of the most resilient, kind-hearted, and inspiring people I have ever known. Driven by a deep sense of purpose, she has served her country with distinction for over two decades. Sadly, over the past five years she has been simultaneously dealing with the invidious challenge of breast cancer. She has faced this disease down with amazing courage, grace, and resilience. But now the cancer battle risks overwhelming her and she urgently needs our help.

In short, if we can raise £60k, we could fund the first year of essential, life-sustaining Enhertu Chemotherapy for Amy to get back the quality of life she deserves. The total cost of this treatment is estimated to be approximately £60,000 per year.

Amy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. After undergoing chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, she went into remission in 2021, and we all hoped this chapter of her life was behind her. As she rebuilt her physical strength, Amy did not just return to the active, adventurous life she relishes, recovering to full operational fitness. She drove herself harder than most ever do, completing a full Ironman in 2022 with a deeply impressive time. Driven by and immensely grateful for the care she had received, she used this massive physical feat to fundraise for cancer charities related to the help and support she had received. Through her "Illness to Ironman" appeal, she raised over £5,200 to support cancer charities, and the friends and shipmates who were inspired by her story went on to raise thousands more in her name.

Amy's determination to return to the job she loved, serving others, saw her outperform herself once again. Whilst recovering to full fitness in her first job back at work, she received an MBE for delivering a weapons upgrade to the Wildcat helicopter so it could protect the Carrier task group. As soon as medically fit to deploy, she was then back to sea as the Operations Officer of the Fleet Flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Devastatingly, in April 2023, scans revealed the awful news: Amy's cancer had returned as Stage 4. This means it has spread and is a terminal diagnosis. Since then, Amy has endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy to try to keep the disease under control for as long as possible. However, each treatment only works temporarily. Early this year, Amy’s worsening pain and mobility issues led to her routine scans being urgently brought forward. That’s when she received the heartbreaking news that the final line of treatment available through the NHS had failed.

Amy has Triple Negative HER2-low Metastatic Breast Cancer—a particularly aggressive form of cancer that is difficult to treat. While this cancer cannot be cured, there is one final treatment option that offers hope: Enhertu Chemotherapy. This treatment has the potential to bring the disease under control and give Amy more precious time with her family and loved ones.

Why We Need Your Help

Amy’s superb Oncology team, backed up by experts from the Royal Marsden Hospital, have advised that Enhertu Chemotherapy is an “excellent” treatment option and it offers Amy the best chance of stabilising her condition and improving her quality of life for as long as possible. They have also suggested that continuity of treatment is extremely important, and Enhertu should begin as soon as possible.

Despite very strong clinical results, Enhertu is currently not funded for Amy’s Triple Negative HER2-low condition by the NHS in England. The only option to sustain Amy is to fund her treatment privately, and the costs of funding it are overwhelming. The total cost of this treatment is estimated to be approximately £60,000 per year – a sum which is beyond what Amy and her family can mobilise in time for the treatment to begin quickly enough to be effective. Amy urgently needs to begin this treatment to give her a fighting chance.

That’s why I’m reaching out to you for help.

How Your Donation Will Make a Difference

Every donation will go directly towards covering:

Your support could give Amy more time to create cherished memories with her family and friends—time that is invaluable.

About Amy

Amy has always been a source of light and strength for those around her—supporting others through their own challenges and bringing joy with her warm spirit, endless optimism and brilliant sense of fun.

Throughout her life, Amy has always worked hard to help others. As a naval officer, through her service to her country, she has touched an enormous number of lives in profound ways. Amy’s service career to date has been exceptionally successful, and she is held in the highest esteem by all those who serve with her.

In addition to the MBE awarded in 2022, Amy has had a glittering career, winning numerous accolades and commendations for a series of outstanding feats, all delivered in the service of others. These have included receiving an award for her exemplary actions while monitoring Russian ships in the English Channel, and another for her handling of a helicopter in extremely difficult weather conditions. She was also awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service by the late Queen Elizabeth for her role in providing immediate disaster relief to the Caribbean Islands devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Leading her team to go well beyond what would have normally been expected, her actions during this vital mission undoubtedly helped save hundreds of lives.

Amy’s commitment to the service and welfare of her colleagues is exemplified by her continuing dedication to the “Lookout” project – a major initiative she is spearheading to provide an innovative new range of welfare support services and facilities to over 3,000 personnel and their families at RNAS Yeovilton. Still seeking to make a difference even during the most difficult stages of her treatment, Amy has sustained her fierce dedication to this project. It is a huge testament to her that even through the pain and trauma of her treatment it is this work that gives her a huge sense of value and personal worth, and drives her to keep going. Enabling Enhertu treatment will allow her to continue to deliver for the Service, and for so many service members and their families.

Amy herself has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity, both by her own direct efforts and by inspiring many friends to lead fundraising events for cancer research and related causes in Amy’s name.

Now it is our turn to help her in her fight.

How You Can Help

Donate: Any contribution—big or small—will bring us closer to giving Amy the treatment she desperately needs. Each 3-week treatment cycle costs approximately £3k, with extra scans costing Amy a further £1k after every 3 to 4 cycles.

Share: Please share this campaign with your network on social media or through email. Spreading the word can make an incredible difference.

Together, we can give Amy hope.

Amy has shown extraordinary strength throughout this journey, but she cannot do this alone. With your help, we can provide her with a lifeline—the chance to access treatment that will allow her time to make more memories with those who love her most. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading Amy’s story and for any support you can offer—whether it’s donating or sharing this campaign through your networks. Let’s come together to give Amy hope.

Thank you so much for your help.

Maeve