This is mum, she is my hero! She is a dreamer, an artist, she is the most colourful person I know.

Only at 52 years old, my mother's colours are now fading away. And her only dream is to beat the cancer that’s slowly taking her life away.

After months of numerous tests on the Isle of Man, few wrong diagnoses and days filled with horrific pain, we received the worst news - advanced locally infiltrative carcinoma of the cervix. At that moment our whole life turned upside down. This is news that no one was prepared for. My heart hurts as I watch her suffer on a daily basis. She can't eat normally and she can't sleep because of the excruciating pain.

The tumour is too large and cannot be operated on at this present time. Five courses of chemotherapy have been appointed, with the first one starting in October. After the chemotherapy she will undergo further tests to find out if the tumour has responded to the treatment. This would be followed up by few courses of radiotherapy and hopefully a surgery. According to the doctors her treatment will last at least about a year.

Unfortunately, treatment is not available in our hometown in Bulgaria and we had to move to Varna. We rented accommodation there and I had to stop so to take care of mum. Our savings quickly melted away and we are struggling. The costs for accommodation, medicines, bills and food are around BGN 3,000 per month (GBP 1,500) , an amount that is unaffordable for our financial capabilities.

I truly believe that you, dear people, will help my mother in this difficult time. Your empathy can save lives. Mum is the only living parent I have left.

All funds that remain unused after the end of treatment will be donated to other people in need.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who responded.