Please help our mum, Alison!

Our mum has secondary breast cancer and we are trying to raise money for medical treatment which we hope will prolong her life. She has recently become a Granny and would love to have as long as possible to spend making memories with baby Isabelle as well as the rest of her family and friends.

What we are raising money for:

We would like to raise money so mum can try this treatment, Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). SIRT is a way of using radiotherapy to control liver cancers that can’t be removed with surgery. However SIRT is a relatively new treatment which is currently not available on the NHS while they evaluate the data that has been collected over the past three years. This means we will have to go privately and will cost between £20,000-£30,000. Although it is not a cure, there has already been a high success rate in shrinking the tumours. We want to try anything which could give our mum a few more precious months.

Mum’s Cancer Story So Far:

Mum was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2012, where after having lump removal and radiotherapy was told the cancer was in remission. Jumping forward less than 5 years later to January 2017, mum was admitted to hospital after a serious problem with her lungs (Malignant Pleural Effusion which is a build up of extra fluid in the space between the lungs and the chest wall). This is when we found out the cancer had returned this time to her sternum and liver as well as in this fluid around her lungs. We were devastated. After the fluid was drained and mum had recovered from having a kidney operation (left kidney was blocked and needed a stent put in), she started on chemo. After 14 months of different chemotherapy, we were told that despite the cancer staying at bay for the most part, the tumours in the liver were proving stubborn. Mum was then put into a trial which unfortunately didn’t work. For now mum has recently been put back onto chemo (her fifth type) to hopefully slow down the growth of the tumours in the liver while waiting for another trial.

Mum has had to put up with a lot over the past couple years. As well as all the cancer treatment, she’s had a serious knee injury unrelated to the cancer, which resulted in surgery and many months of physiotherapy. Plus ongoing kidney issues which means having surgery every 4-6 months to make sure they are functioning the best they can. Since March 2017 she’s had 5 kidney operations.

We’re doing what we can to raise the required total, but we need some help along the way.

Thank you for your time. Any amount of denotations or words of support would be greatly appreciated but please don’t feel obliged to.

From the Cockroft family x

‘No matter what happens today enjoy every minute. Life is short it can change in an instant.’