Help Fi to Heal From Stage Four Ovarian Cancer
Hello. My name is Fi Munro.
Four years ago, when I was just 30 years old, I was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
There is no stage five, my cancer was terminal at diagnosis.
I underwent gruelling treatment. Two types of chemotherapy (taxol/carbo) alongside a maintenance drug (Avastin).
Overnight I went from an active 30 year old, newly married, woman to a ‘cancer patient’ - weak, exhausted, sick, breathless and all my hair fell out too. I didn’t recognise who I saw in the mirror.
Half way through my chemo I had major surgery to remove multiple organs including my spleen, ommentum, womb, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, appendix, part of my bowel (I have a permanent colostomy bag now) plus part of my liver, pancreas and diaphragm too.
Maintenance treatment kept me in remission for a short while before my cancer returned in January 2018. It was now in my lungs and throughout my abdomen.
For the past 15 months I was on an NHS funded immunotherapy trial that has enabled me to keep living. But it stopped working in December 2019 with multiple new lesions in my right lung, lymph nodes and around my heart. I now spend most nights writhing in pain and vomiting because this treatment gave me colitis.
I started chemotherapy again in January but, despite this, I have a new tumour in my liver and two more new ones in my right lung.
I am entitled to three more doses of chemotherapy and then I am out of nhs options as of May this year.
I am only 34 years old and I have so much more living to do. I didn’t get this far to only get this far.
I now want to explore other treatment options, including private complementary treatment. This often isn’t cheap and so I am asking for helping to raise funds.
If you are able to, please donate or share this with someone who can. Thank you, not just from me, but from my husband, family and friends too.
Since my diagnosis I have published a book and won awards for my awareness raising blog and charity fundraising. I want my diagnosis to bring hope and learning to others so that no one else has to go through what me and my loved ones go through every day. Please help me to do this by enabling me to explore all relevant treatment options. Thank you.
I will keep my blog updated with my endeavours - www.fkmunro.com
With love and gratitude today and always, Fi xx