In 2013, at just 44, Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer. With her family and friends beside her, she went through the pain and trauma of chemotherapy, then surgery, then radiotherapy. She thought that was it. Then, in summer 2015, she found a lump. The doctor confirmed the news she was dreading - the cancer was back. But there was worse news, the cancer had spread to her liver - she had secondary breast cancer - incurable.
Since receiving this devastating news, Julie has had several treatments on the NHS, none of which have helped stop the tumours from growing. However, following kind donations and sponsorship from friends and colleagues, Julie had specialist liver radiotherapy at the end of 2016. Whilst Julie is hoping that this treatment has helped reduce her liver tumours, she knows that this is just one battle in her war against cancer.
Other secondary breast cancer sufferers have turned to immunotherapy. Because cancer cells are similar to normal cells, the immune system doesn't always recognise them as foreign and attack them. Immunotherapy works by stimulating the immune system to work harder and smarter to fight cancer cells.
Immunotherapy isn't currently available on the NHS. So, Julie's family, friends and colleagues are hoping to raise £10,000 for an initial assessment and treatment to help give Julie and her family more precious years together. The treatment will involve travelling to a German clinic for leukapheresis, where T-cells are gathered, vaccinated, and then reinjected a few days later. If the treatment is successful, it is repeated every 6 - 10 weeks
Any additional funds will go to the secondary breast cancer charity Second Hope.