December 24th 2018 mum got taken into hospital - she then got moved to Exeter hospital, and eventually ended up in London. She had a cancerous tumour the size of a rugby ball on her kidney. The operation was difficult, but was successful and they removed that tumour. Just when we thought all was okay, at her check up they discovered that the tumour had spread to her lungs. She first started chemo on the 9th May, this proved positive at first, and was stopping any growth, but there was a limit to the amount of that chemo she could have. Once that was over she was free from chemo for a while but it seemed that once the chemo had stopped, these tumours had started to grow again. A second chemo was tried, this one consisting of her havin a rather fetching bum bag, and needing to have this drug for 24 hours. This one didn’t work either. She then tried this final chemo, which seemed to be the most aggressive in terms of side effects and making her ill. I really really hoped that because it was making her so poorly, and requiring multiple blood transfusions so often that surely it must be working, but this week we found out that it wasn’t. There are more tumours, and some of the others have grown. The blood clots are back which means she will need awful injections again.

I wanted to do something to raise some more money, and quite frankly I’m enjoying having my hair back 🤣.

FORCE are a charity that we have used in Exeter very often. The force centre provides a relaxing, comfortable place for patients to wait for their treatment. They provide free tea and coffee, and biscuits 😉. They offer free wig fitting, there are massages available, beauty advice, someone to talk to, financial advice and so so much more.

I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for not just my mum, but for the rest of us in making sure we feel supported.

✨💕✨💕✨💕

Barbara Anne Sargeant