Hi, my name is Ian Frizell, and I have started this JustGiving campaign to help a lovely family that live close to me. This is a story about a young family who, for reasons of their own, want to remain anonymous - so I shall refer to them as Dave and Jenny, and their two young children.

Jenny, a good friend of my wife and I, had the misfortune to develop bowel cancer five years ago. She underwent surgery to remove the tumour and then they "hit her hard" with chemotherapy because she was very young to have such a cancer, and also because they wanted to make sure that they stood the best possible chance of eliminating it - not only for her sake, but also for her husband and two young children, one of whom has health challenges of his own (Cystic Fibrosis).

My wife and I assumed that everything was okay, because every time we saw her and asked how she was, she would give us a beautiful smile and tell us that she was fine. It was just a few weeks ago that we found out that she wasn't fine at all - far from it! Jenny broke down in tears and told us that she has now been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease - her consultant holds the view that she has had this condition for some considerable time, and that her bowel cancer was caused by the Crohn's - he then told her that cancer markers in her blood are slightly elevated, and that (in his opinion) her cancer will return in 6 to 12 months time. Coming on top of the other health issues that she was battling as a result of the bowel cancer and subsequent chemotherapy (peripheral neuropathy, Reynaud's Syndrome, depression, anxiety, obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD), bladder issues and shingles to name but a few) the thought of losing her fight with cancer, and the possibility of Dave and her two children losing a wife and mother, was just overwhelming.

Jenny was so distressed and anxious that I put her in touch with a Canadian Facebook friend of mine who had had a similar cancer, is now cancer free, and advises people with cancer on diet and lifestyle changes, and alternative treatments that are available in Canada but are not currently available in the UK. The upshot is that Jenny took the decision to follow this alternative therapy, which she and Dave have managed to fund by borrowing on a credit card. Dave has taken so much time off work over the last 5 years, to help and support Jenny, that they have fallen behind with mortgage payments on the family home, and he is now facing a lot more time off to look after their two children and to support Jenny as she undergoes her treatment. It goes without saying that the last thing that this lovely family need at this moment in time is any kind of stress – stress really sends Jenny’s Crohn’s symptoms through the roof, and who knows how it may affect the cancer markers in her blood.

So, this campaign is to raise some money for Dave and Jenny, so that they can continue the alternative treatment without the additional stress of worrying about whether or not they will have their house repossessed, or if they will be able to put food on the table for their boys. Do they pay for travel to receive Jenny’s treatment, or do they pay the mortgage? At the moment, they are running up a rather large credit card debt, because there isn’t an answer to that question – they need Jenny to have her treatment and they need to provide a home and food for the family, but this situation cannot continue for much longer.

Jenny has now been receiving the alternative treatment for the last three or four weeks, and the initial signs are very promising – her pain is now under control, she has managed to wean herself off a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs, including tramadol, diazepam, morphine, anti-sickness tablets and sleeping pills, and her consultant remarked that her inflammation was reduced when he reviewed the pictures from the colonoscopy that she had last week.

If you can afford to make a donation, however small, I know that Dave and Jenny will be eternally grateful, and you will be helping a decent, loving family to survive financially whilst Jenny receives her treatment.

It would also be enormously appreciated if you could share this campaign via social media or email, by clicking the buttons below..

I’ll be issuing frequent updates on her progress, so please do come back and see what your donation is helping to achieve. Thank you very much for reading.