I’m Dawn and I am 43 years old. I would really appreciate your help. Please help me to be here as long as possible for my 10 year old daughter and my family.

In 2011, when my daughter Meadow was only two and I was a single parent, I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer.  I had a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. I made some lifestyle changes and thought that I would be OK.  Early in 2015 I met Martin at church and I was so happy to marry him in August 2016.  I felt blessed that we had our little family together. 

Yet we were dealt a hard blow just three months after we married when I was diagnosed with breast cancer again.  The cancer had spread through the breast like a “net” and therefore didn’t form a lump.  It was the size of a tennis ball and had already come through to my skin.  There was spread to one lymph node.  I had a mastectomy and full lymph node clearance in December 2016 and proceeded with further treatment.

I was warned by the Oncologist that I was at very high risk. The cancer was 8cm and grade 2 (Stage 3c).  The stress of knowing this was immense.  All I could think was that I need to live until my daughter is an adult. Yet statistically my chances of being alive in 5 years had dropped to around 20%. 

In 2017, getting on with life, I started some part time work for a Christian
charity.  But sadly that was cut short when the cancer returned on my mastectomy scar.  This time, in order to remove all the cancer, extensive skin and tissue had to be removed from the mastectomy scar area – I had to have a large skin graft from my back and a muscle was moved from my back to my chest and the graft placed over it.  This was very
major surgery and to be honest I’ve not been the same since physically,
suffering ongoing pain and less use of my right arm.

Late in 2018 we had another shock.  The cancer had returned, inside my chest, in two areas.  The first surgery dug into my chest to remove
the tumours.  Then I needed a second surgery as they didn’t get all the cancer out the first time.  Now the cancer had upped a gear and was grade 3 (most aggressive). 

At the same time, we had to sell the house. Martin works as a support worker, caring for people with severe disability.  I had to stop work due to all the cancer surgeries and treatments. So in the Autumn of 2018 we moved to a smaller rented house. We do appreciate this house because
it has a nice garden which we can enjoy.

I’m now on a more intense endocrine therapy. That’s injections which induce an early menopause to stop all estrogen in my body. That has been very tough for me, causing me to gain weight and it feels like I have a hundred emotional ups and downs in the space of a day.  Martin has been great, but for all this to happen so soon in our marriage has been really difficult. 

Having had all these recurrences, I am living with the real possibility of an early death.  But as people have said to me, God is in control and my faith in him is a huge help to me and I feel really supported by some wonderful people. Meadow is 10 years old now.  She is a kind, happy and talented child. I also became a Grandma when Martin’s daughter recently had her first child, Nancy Elizabeth. I am determined to do everything I can to be here for as long as possible.

I’ve made big changes in my diet and lifestyle but I need money to pay for treatments to support my body. There is a clinic in London I want to attend as soon as possible and longer term expenses are supplementation, oxygen therapy and other new treatments becoming available in private medicine which would be impossible for me if I don’t have the funds.  Your supporting me with donations towards supporting myself with cancer will be immensely helpful – thank you so much :) <3