January 2022 update....

Dear friends, family and other beautiful humans,

I'm sorry for the radio silence on this site, I have been toing and froing from Germany whilst trying to maintain some semblance of normality at home, and then... well, Christmas happened!

This update is not the one I was hoping to write, and not good news I'm afraid. After four bouts of immunotherapy in Germany, my last brain scan showed the tumour has grown in size and is moving, there has been no improvement and after taking advice from consultants in Germany and the UK, I have decided to stop the treatment.

There is no other alternative long term treatment available so my prognosis is now about how fast this thing grows; we’re talking weeks/months. It’s a harsh reality but - I'm cracking on with living!

I am taking steroids which help reduce inflammation. I am still taking all my natural supplements and sticking to my healthy diet (well, mostly). I have been working with my family and friends and we have a solid plan in place to make sure everyone is supported through this part of the journey.

I am doing really well all things considered; I'm having some really beautiful and lovely times with visitors, friends and family. Things are calm as well as going through all the emotions at times; I'm still up and about every day and enjoying time with my boy.

As I explained in a previous post, the tumour affects my language centre so, speaking, finding words and reading long texts is a bit more tricky, (I seem to be making up my own language at times which is very funny!).

We’ve closed this page for donations, I am still using the funds to pay for ongoing treatment, supplements and care.

I want to say the BIGGEST thank you to everyone who has come together to create something amazing, to give me my best chance. None of this would have been possible without your donations, your ideas and your hard work.

It's important everyone knows throughout this, it has been completely, overwhelmingly beautiful. So many amazing connections and not just the sad time you might imagine.

It's also important to me that people don't give up on these treatments, they can be lifechanging but more research and better access is needed.

Love you very much x

Sarah

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Help us to get life-saving cancer treatment for our amazing friend Sarah Pugh.

In November 2020, Sarah was diagnosed with a life-threatening grade 4 glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Even after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy the tumour is likely to grow within months. We hope to access more progressive techniques in Germany that may help prolong Sarah's life and give her a few more years with her son.

Sarah’s been one of Bristol's leading environmental and community organisers and teachers for over twenty years, designing and delivering hundreds of life-changing courses. She is one of the funniest and loveliest human beings you’ll ever meet - full of positive energy. Her inspiring, down to earth teaching has catalysed environmental action, community-building and positive culture change. With pioneering spirit, she initiated the Bristol Permaculture Group, Transition Bristol and Shift Bristol - leading its much loved Practical Sustainability Course. Most importantly, Sarah is mum to a brave and wonderful 12 year old son, whom she’s brought up single-handed. She says it’s hard to know which is more challenging - having a brain tumour or getting a 12 year old to do his homework!

As some of you will know, last year, Sarah stepped out of co-ordinating Shift Bristol and started teaching online to make space to write her long-awaited book. The sudden onset of a life-threatening grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumour wasn’t exactly in the plan. The tumour severely affected her brain’s language centre and she needed urgent surgery. Sarah chose to have a waking craniotomy neurosurgery, so she was conscious and cracking jokes during the op. Although the surgery went well and resulted in an impressive 100% removal of the original tumour the glioblastoma will always re-seed into neighbouring cells, developing into a new tumour.

Sarah has since undergone radiotherapy and several months of chemotherapy. So far she’s responded well, despite the ongoing fatigue. She’s radically adapted her diet and lifestyle with amazing help from herbalists, integrative practitioners and medical consultants, Vitamin, herbal and mushroom supplements are helping boost her immune system and combat side effects. She has slowly regained her ‘mum powers’ and is keeping the family together. She has had enormous support from friends, family and neighbours who've helped cook, walk the dog, and do shopping. They even helped move house. Doorstep visits and phone calls kept her spirits up through hair loss, fatigue and the shock and grief that comes with such a brutal re-assessment of life goals. Two amazing friends moved in temporarily to help look after the boy and the dog.

However, the difficult truth is, despite lifestyle changes, and all the treatments, the prognosis for glioblastomas is bleak. At some point the tumour will regrow and possibly spread to other parts of the brain..

The 'median survival time' is devastatingly short – just 14-16 months. Only 25% of glioblastoma patients survive more than one year; 5% of patients survive for more than five years with only a tiny handful making it much beyond that. Survival rates here are below many other countries, and progressive treatments used elsewhere are unavailable. In the UK there is nothing beyond the standard treatments of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

The oncologists have often told Sarah that they don’t want to give her ‘false hope’. She’s had words with them about that! Whilst fully accepting that an untimely death is incredibly likely, she’s actively hoping to at least see her son through school. She's doing her best with what's in front of her.

After much research and a recommendation from several people, including a long-term survivor, Sarah is keen to try immunotherapy, a progressive treatment that has shown very promising results. Germany is the nearest country to offer this, and it is widely used in the USA and other EU countries. The treatment creates a personalised vaccine made from the patient’s own immune cells to target and kill the cancer. Sarah likens this to sending her white blood cells to ninja training school and she loves the idea of her own system being instrumental in the fight. The vaccine is then administered at regular intervals over the next couple of years. While ultimately there is no ‘cure’, the treatment has shown significant increases in survival rates.

All of Sarah’s work has been for passion and conviction, not for financial gain, so she isn’t in a position to afford this treatment. So we, her community, friends and family want to make sure she gets to Germany and has every weapon in her armoury to fight this thing off for as long as possible. Will you join us?

Treatment for three years costs a minimum of £70,000, plus basic travel and accommodation. We are looking to raise £80,000 in total. Sarah and a helper will need to travel three or four times a year to Germany for the duration of the treatment. The initial treatment takes a week but after that, each trip is a couple of days. Any funds raised will be carefully and transparently managed by an independent team. If the treatment doesn’t work, any residual money will be donated to a similar fund.

Please consider giving what you can. Thank you!