Simone Boulton - Our Sim is 1 in a million!

Update 28/2/23

Our Sim is 1 in a million! Adrenal Cancer is so rare that a mere 23 Australians developed this cancer making her a pioneer in the discovery to find a cure. Her oncologist has now recommended she try, as her final fight against this evil disease, a new immunotherapy treatment called 'Keytruda', which boosts the immune system to effectively fight the tumours. I have personally read testimonials from other adrenal cancer survivors who have reported successful results which gives Sim hope and the strenght to give it a go! Funding for this trial unfortunately is not covered by our Healthcare system. It is though, available for colon cancer patients. Research is indicating that it could also now be effective for Adrenal cancer treatment.

Given this new financial hurdle, we will now use the money raised for Simone's Go Fund Me fundraiser to pay for her treatment which is costing $60,000. The treatment consists of 10 infusions, 1 every 3 weeks and has proved successful amongst Adrenal Cancer patients, reporting, shrinking of tumours, which we hope will provide Simone with more time with her family and friends, comfort and quality of life.

I do intend to write an application to our federal health minister, the Honourble Mark Butler, requesting this new treatment be made available to Adrenal cancer patients and be covered by the PBS as it is for colon cancer patients but due to limited research, people are unaware of this successful new treatment available to them. My intention is to advocate for the approval and funding of 'Keytruda' for the small number of adrenal cancer patients suffering in Australia.

The last 4 weeks have been her most difficult yet with a 3-week hospital stay seeing her in unimaginable pain in her neck due to a fracture and more tumours discovered in her knee, skull and spine. The previous tumours in her breastbone and liver and hip, show they are still slowly growing as scans revealed. Several methods of pain relief were administered but a morphine driver and a cocktail of pain meds was the only way to manage her pain and provide small periods of rest.

Still incredibly determined to get home, she returned home on Friday 17th February to a surprise gift from her husband Adam and daughters, Maya and Remi with a spontaneously planned Wedding Vow Renewal to celebrate their 13 years of marriage this March. Surprisingly she found the energy to enjoy this special occasion with a beautiful memorable ceremony in her garden with her family and few close friends with her daughters delivering heartfelt speeches to their parents.

Today Sim is now resting at home with her beautiful family after receiving her 1st 'Keytruda' treatment 1 1/2 weeks ago.

On behalf of Simone I would like to Thank you all for your love, prayers, hospital visits, and generous contributions. These donations are needed more than ever as we never anticipated to fund this new treatment costing $60,000 which was originally to go to Simone's ongoing home and hospital care, assisting her husband and her two beautiful daughters moving forward. She has appreciated your continued support on her health journey as we continue to discover new pathways.

I will update you all in a few weeks.

Love and healing light ! Em x

Update from facebook 11/1/23

Our beautiful Sim is still fighting hard to fight this beast ! Thankyou everyone for sending your love and soothing messages to her over the Christmas break ! Let’s give this ‘Go fund Me’ a shake up to help her during 2023! Sadly Sim discovered that stent surgery to open her airways is no longer an option due to tumours forming in her airways so a desperate attempt to shrink them with a fortnightly intravenous Chemo treatment and a cocktail of medication to shrink and kill the cancer including 6 daily chemo tablets mitotane along with morphine to treat her pain and part of her treatment! She has enjoyed being home with her family and relatives but spends her days resting and sleeping in bed so please send her your loving words and continue to pray for a miracle for our girl ! Xx love you Simone Boulton you warrior woman x we hope funds raise will go to future adrenal cancer research and awareness and future care for her and her family during this challenging time x Em

Update from facebook 22/12/22

A little update for our Sim who has suffered another set back this week, back in hospital, poor darling and is now finding it difficult to breathe. Her intravenous Chemo has now ceased due to scans revealing no shrinkage to tumours and her liver tumour has actually grown slightly. Today she requires a blood transfusion and two procedures will be performed to open her airways usings stents to open her pulmonary artery as the tumour is wrapped around it restricting blood flow to her heart and her right lung is blocked completely with the tumours. She has been suffering horrendous coughing fits daily and requires regular oxygen to help her feel comfortable. I ask that we all continue to pray for her so she can get home from hospital tomorrow to see her family and celebrate Christmas. Please keep praying and sending your loving messages of support as she is a little low today …. A huge Thankyou to Danielle Parkinson and Caroline Terry Hutchinson for your love and compassion to create and draw the heartfelt Christmas raffle for our beautiful Simone Boulton combining it with our ‘Go Fund Me’ fundraiser $33, 993, this is an incredible act of community love and support x A huge Thank-you to our Sunny Coast community and a Merry Christmas to all who have contributed in any way to our brave and beautiful soul Sim xx Em x

Update from facebook 27/11/22

❤️Wow! An incredible result already for our beautiful and brave Simmy x $30,393 Thank you to our caring community for your generous donations and thoughtful words of encouragement for Sim who is feeling the effects of her 2nd round of chemo this weekend…she is feeling very nauseous and unwell x please send her your heartfelt messages to brighten ❤️her day in bed today xx we love you darling Sim x

Update from facebook 22/11/2022

Lost for words … Thankyou to our compassionate Sunny Coast community for their outpouring of support and love shown and generous donations and this media coverage even appears to be spreading Australia wide touching the hearts of many! ❤️ We have already raised over $25,000 for her ‘Go fund Me’ campaign, for our beautiful brave Sim, who on top of everything, courageously underwent the big shave on Sunday due to her hair loss from chemo treatment x We love you Sim x Big Thankyou to Caroline Terry Hutchinson from 92.7 MIX FM for her special tribute made to Sim on air with her ‘is it just me segment’ raising awareness of how GoFundMe can support those going through adversity! So very grateful for your radio presence! ❤️Shout out to Letea Cavander from Sunshine Coast Daily for covering Sim’s story x Sadly Cancer touches the lives of many …eternally grateful ❤️

Our Simone Original Go Fund Me Article

Simone has been a dear friend for 40 years and is now fighting for her life, battling Adrenal Cortical Cancer for the past five years since being diagnosed at age 40 in February 2017. Sim has been surrounded by her loving family and friends, who have emotionally supported her during her health journey, which has rapidly declined over the last few months. Sim possesses a cheerful, brave, determined, and stoic disposition, aiding her long fight and strong will to live for her family. Her courage and hope for a miracle cure for this rare disease have been undeniable. Sim has already recovered from 2 major surgeries to remove the first primary 14 cm tumour, in her adrenal gland, alongside her adrenal gland, right kidney, 1/3 liver and gall bladder. She has since been fighting its return with oral chemotherapy and radiation until it returned to her right lung two years later. She underwent lung surgery, removing her right lung's tumours and top lobe. This successful surgery gave her two more years to enjoy spending time with her supportive husband, Adam and two beautiful daughters, Maya (11 years) and Remi (7 years), whilst being monitored regularly for any reoccurrence.

Unfortunately, last October the cancer returned to the right lung again. Hence, she commenced 20 rounds of radiation which left her with a debilitating cough and painful right side, which saw her fracture two ribs and bedridden for five weeks to recover, medicating with morphine to ease the pain and suppress her cough. She was lucky to qualify for an immunotherapy trial to shrink and miraculously cure cancer which she was supposed to receive for 18 weeks. This treatment ceased early due to new tumours appearing in the last scan, proving treatment unsuccessful. To slow the growth of the tumours more than four weeks of intense radiation was required.

Her last week of radiation saw her celebrating with mates as encouraged by doctors, which was spent fondly on the Gold Coast. A week later, Sim woke with excruciating 12/10 hip and back pain requiring an emergency trip in an ambulance which Dr’s suspected Bursitis. Sadly, further X-rays and bone scans revealed cancer had spread to her right hip, vertebrae, breast bone and liver. This discovery has now proved her biggest challenge yet topped off with a week-long stint in hospital to manage her pain and treat an emergency fever, pneumonia. This chemo offers Sim a 50/50 chance to shrink and miraculously destroy the growing tumours with six rounds of chemotherapy over 18 week cycle.

The number of health challenges she has faced would be considered a nightmare for anyone, but she has done it showing incredible grace and grit!

Her surgeon has told Sim that surgical treatment is no longer an option stating her health as now ‘terminal’. A horrendous prognosis for anyone to digest, but she stoically continues to finish home improvements with her husband Adam to create a more comfortable home which has been a wonderful distraction for her during the past 12 months to make her house her haven.

Simone has had to face the frightening reality that her time with her family may be cut short due to this terrible health diagnosis giving her limited quality of life. She has always wanted to take her girls in a fly in a Hot Air balloon and still dreams of making memories with Adam and her girls taking the girls on holiday to Bali. We hope her treatment will allow these dreams to come to fruition, and we continue to pray for a miracle.

This ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign invites loving friends, family, and our caring community to show their support and compassion to Simone, Adam and her beautiful girls.

With the funds raised, we hope to provide Sim and her family with more financial comfort during her life-saving treatment. Over the coming months, Sim will require round-the-clock treatment. We expect the money raised will support her husband, Adam and the girls, assisting with Sim's medical/hospital treatment and enabling Adam to take time off work to care for Simone and the girls. The funds raised will also help with weekly house cleaning, pool/garden maintenance and meal delivery to ease their load during this challenging time. Any additional funds raised will proudly go to future treatment funding and to assist others battling this disease to raise more awareness about this rare form of frightening metastasising cancer and as per Simone’s wishes for her girl's future.

Thank you, everyone, for your care and contributions.

Prayers for miracles for Sim and sending her and her family outpourings of compassion, love and healing light…

Emily x