Please help Kristi make some final memories with her family

Hi, my name is Dennise and I am fundraising for my dear friend Kristi who is at the end of her short yet aggressive cancer battle. Kristi is a 46 year old mother of three, her youngest only 7 years old. Her partner Pete has had to give up work to care for her full time. I would love to be able to help them make some memories and ease the financial pressure.

Kristi’s journey started only last year, in January 2024. Her symptoms were what she thought were typical female problems that were brushed off as menopause. When she started having trouble urinating, she went to see the Doctor. The doctor ordered an ultrasound that showed nothing however, the papsmear was abnormal.

Not long after that the pain began and Kristi was barely able to pass urine. She went in to hospital where stents were placed in her ureters as they had found large, stage 3 tumours crushing them and causing her symptoms. She was then informed that the cancer had spread throughout her pelvis.

Treatment for the cancer was delayed after being discharged from hospital as she had developed cysts (which progressed to abscess's) on her kidneys.

In March she was sent for a PET scan which showed that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. This now meant that her cancer was stage 4. Treatment was delayed while investigations were done to determine the best course of action and Kristi was hospitalised again in March, unable to urinate at all, requiring a urinary catheter for two months, progressing to permanent urostomy bags. She was started on chemotherapy but was only able to complete 5 rounds out of the 6 due to neuropathic damage in her fingers. The chemo knocked her around every time, but she fought through it believing it was working.

She was then started on a new immunotherapy drug that, according to scans, seemed to be working. In November however, her pain started to escalate to unbearable levels and she was having to take very strong pain killers to get any kind of relief.

Another PET scan in December showed that unfortunately the treatment was no longer working and cancer had spread further throughout her body and to her liver. She had 5 rounds of palliative radiation and to help alleviate the pain which, along with a continuous pump of pain medication is helping her to tolerate the pain day to day.

Kristi is at the stage where she is wanting to make the most of the time she has left. Please do what you can to help me, help Kristi and her family at the hardest time of their lives.