Please help me to raise money for my treatment

My name is Lesley, and I would really appreciate your help.

In August 2019 I was unfortunately diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.

This completely floored me as I had, until this point, led a busy life as a primary school teacher alongside an active social life.

My life changed inevitetably overnight for my partner, family and close friends.

To say it hit me hard is an understatement as I was told it was treatable but not curable.

The prognosis for stage 4 ovarian cancer is not the best and the standard treatment in the UK is usually Chemotherapy followed by maintenance drugs.

I underwent my first line of chemotherapy treatments after significant surgery from November 2019 to January 2020 and then went on to have 18 doses of a maintenance drug.

This put me into remission for nearly 9 months, allowing me to live a relatively everyday life which was fantastic, as constant treatment and hospital visits can be pretty gruelling and takes its toll.

Unfortunately, In January 2021, my cancer returned soon after the last dose of maintenance which meant more Chemotherapy lay ahead.

My oncologist decided on a different cocktail of Chemotherapy called Platinum based in February 2021, but this did not go as planned.

Whilst having my second session I had a very serious anaphylactic reaction to this, so as a result, it was decided it was too dangerous for me to continue with the Platinum based Chemotherapy, and I had to continue with a different line of treatment as an alternative.

Furthermore, the maintenance drugs I had started during the treatment were also stopped.

Platinum based chemotherapy used in conjunction with non platinum based drugs is considered the most effective for Ovarian cancer so I sought a second opinion from an oncology professor at Christies in Manchester.

He recommened that I should try the Platinum based chemotherapy again next time I needed treatment, on the strict provision that I would be given a high dose of pre-med drugs to reduce the risk of an anaphylactic shock occuring again.

So why do I need your help???

Well, here I am again in the middle of my 3rd line of treatment, as my cancer returned in January this year (2022).

This time alongside my treatment, in between sessions 4 and 5, I will need 5 Radiotherapy treatments too which will start in July 2022.

I am currently having Platinum based chemo as recommended by the professor at Christies together with high doses of drugs to reduce the risk of a allergic reaction and so far so good.

But.... if all this wasnt bad enough the NHS have informed me they don't fund maintenance drugs for 3rd line treatment and beyond. I will now have to fund it which is incredibly expensive and beyond what I can afford.

This quite frankly is terrifying as without maintanence, the cancer will return and soon.

I know it is a lot to ask for help especially given the current climate, but I desperately need your help to not only raise the funds for maintanance treatment towards the end of this year, but also to fund new treatments should I be compatible that are also not funded by the NHS in the UK or abroad.

Technology and research is forever changing, there have been successful treatments abroad and on going trials but they all cost money I simply dont have.

I have a fantastic partner, a daughter and close friends who have all been my rock and supported me through some very dark days.

I have a beautiful baby granddaughter and I would give anything to watch her grow up and flourish and if at all possible I would love to resume my teaching career and continue to inspire young minds.

Please help me raise this money - even a £1 will help.

If you would like to do a fundraiser yourself, that would be fantastic too.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for helping me.

Lesley

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