Supporting Ella and her boys through Cancer

Hi, my name is Katrina and I am fundraising on behalf of my best friend (Ella) who has recently been diagnosed with a rare aggressive stage 3 breast cancer and is her-2 positive (most recent results showing grade 3 invasive carcinoma) and is due to start treatment over this month. The money raised from this page will be going towards supporting her and her boys during this difficult time such as supporting for her boys to go to nursery and care during her treatment as well as any expenses from treatments. Any additional money left will go towards a wig for Ella to help with her confidence due to hair-loss from chemo. Ellas story; Ella is a 25 year old single mum to two beautiful boys (my god-children) ages 2 and 3. Ella and her boys had just moved into their new home after an abusive relationship, this year should have been her fresh start for her family until she recently got knocked back when finding out she has cancer. Ella was working as a domiciliary carer which she recently had to stop due to her diagnosis. Ella is only entitled to minimum SSP so will struggle to pay her bills and pay for the boys nursery fees which her work usually covers. Ella is already mentally struggling with the thought of her appearance changing due to hair loss and worried that she will not be available or strong enough for her boys during treatment. She would like to prioritise the go fund me money to make sure they do not miss out on life because of her cancer. Diagnosis and treatment plan; Ella has asked to put her personal experience with finding out about her cancer at a young age to raise awareness for other people and to push for tests when you feel something isn’t right within your own body. “ In February 2023 I found a lump located in my breast. I called my GP to raise concern and was told by my doctor that I am too young to have breast cancer and to wait 4-6 weeks to see if it goes away. I refused to wait and did not leave the room until the doctor agreed to refer me to the breast clinic. My appointment with the breast clinic specialist doctor ended with the same comment that I am ‘too young’ to have breast cancer. Luckily they agreed and sent me for an ultrasound where they also found an enlarged lymph node. They performed a biopsy on both lumps and ran some blood work. On the 15/05/23 I returned to the hospital to recive my results and was told I have stag 3 breast cancer. In the space of 2 weeks I had 2 mammograms, coil marker put in my breast, 2 MRI scans with contrast, a PET-CT scan and multiple blood tests. I was soon referred to the genetics who informed me I was HER-2 positive My next treatments include chemotherapy and surgery to attempt to stop the aggressive fast spread of my cancer and to hopefully fully remove what is left. I hope my short story encourages everyone to push for tests to be done when you find something wrong within your body and to not take ‘too young’ or other excuses a reason to not be seen by your GP.” Fundraising activities I am going to update this page over time with fundraising activities that I will be organising to help Ella and her boys during this time of need so they can focus on Ella getting better and not worry about the financial expenses the next year will bring. In the mean time please feel free to donate to this page! Thank you so much!