Thank you for visiting my page.

I’m supporting Sarcoma UK, a national charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments. Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in the bone and soft tissue. It is difficult to diagnose and one of the hardest to treat. It makes up less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the UK each year. By supporting me, we can help change this.

My mum died from Pleomorphic Sarcoma, a rare and very aggressive cancer that affects soft tissue and bone. She first felt an almond sized lump on her hip in April 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. A locum GP told her it was probably a cyst. A couple of months later it had grown in size and become painful so she went back. Our family doctor thought it was probably more serious and referred her to a specialist. On September 14th 2020, she was told she had sarcoma. The date sticks as it was my sister, Lea's birthday. We had to wait weeks for an MRI due to the one at the hospital being broken. In October, we found out she had less than 6 months to live. By then the lump was very painful and looked like a rugby ball on her hip! She had radiation therapy to shrink the tumour; not to extend her life, but to make her more comfortable. We watched her deteriorate and the weight fell off her. She was on the larger side and always joked about how gutted she was that it took dying of cancer to get to the weight she was as a young woman! Lockdown was a blessing in one respect as it meant we were able to be with her every day and care for her at home until she died in February 2021. It is possible that the cancer was a result of radiation therapy she had 5 years earlier for endometrial cancer.

In September 2022, my sister was called back to our doctor for MRI results after suffering with headaches. I went with her. We were told that she had tumours on her brain - metastatic melanoma from the cancer she fought over 10 years earlier. Further tests and scans revealed she had tumours on her lungs as well. Lea underwent radiation therapy to try and shrink the brain tumours before she had brain surgery to try and remove some more. Brain surgery revealed she had high levels of necrosis and they needed to operate again. Unfortunately on the day of the surgery, they found a blood clot on her lung and surgery was cancelled. Lea was on high doses of steroids to try and keep the swelling down in her brain and she also broke her back whilst on treatment. She ended up needing a walker, then a wheelchair. The hospital tried her on immunotherapy, but she reacted badly to it and could not have anymore treatment. they then tried targeted therapy which seemed to work for a few months, but we then received the devastating news that it was no longer working and there was no more they could do. We were told she had around 6 weeks to live. She died 3 weeks later in November 2023. She was just 48 and left behind three children. The tumours on her brain had such a devastating effect on her cognition, memory and sometimes on her personality and we literally lost her bit by bit.

Your donations could prevent other families from being devastated by this horrific disease and help to fund vital research as well as raising awareness for this disease. 💔

Thank you for your support.