It's fast approaching 4 years since our beautiful and courageous sister Nic was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer. She was told the devastating news that it had spread to her liver and bones and that there was no cure only treatment to prolong her life. It's hard to explain the heartbreak and devastation we felt that day as a family and the look on her face when she walked through the door will forever be embedded in our minds. She was 32 years old, a new mummy to a gorgeous 6-month-old baby girl called Nancie and a loving wife to Simon, they married in June 2013.

Since her diagnosis in February 2015 Nic has continued to work and lives her life enjoying holidays with her supportive and loving husband Simon and their beautiful but cheeky little girl. Those that know Nic well, know that she is not one to sit still and is stubborn at times doing things most of us wouldn’t even dream of, like furniture removal and DIY! She’s unbelievable the things she gets up to, but we love her more for it. Throughout Nic has been determined to not let the cancer control her and she just wants to lead a normal life, continuing to build beautiful memories for Nancie.

Sadly in September 2016 Nic was told that the cancer had spread to her brain. Despite this Nic continued to be positive and we spent Christmas together as a family. We hadn’t done that for years. Precious memories to last a lifetime.

Since this life changing diagnosis Nic has had two lots of chemotherapy, whole head radiotherapy and must go to hospital regularly for treatment. She has also been on and off steroids which have physically affected her, another hurdle she has had to overcome. She has lost her hair twice and her body has been subjected to fatigue, pain and nausea. She has also spent time in hospital when things haven’t been so good. The treatment is now being given through a port intravenously as her veins started to collapse after 3 years of continuous chemo and bone strengthening drugs. She is scanned and sees her consultants regularly.

The most recent scan results in September 2018 unfortunately showed some of the deposits in the head had grown. Following this news Nic has since had CyberKnife radiotherapy to the head area, this took place at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. Nic is yet to have a scan to see the results of this recent treatment. The cancer in her body is stable and we continue to remain positive.

To say we are proud of Nic is an understatement. She has been truly inspirational and so brave throughout. The strength she has shown is incredible and so many are in ore of how she has coped and managed. I remember her once saying I have two choices, I either lay down and let it beat me or I fight. She chooses to fight, and we are immensely proud of her for having such an amazing outlook on life despite this life changing illness. Her quality of life is good now and that’s due to her positive outlook. She didn’t choose this illness however she is choosing to not let it control her. Obviously, she has bad days, probably more than she lets on however she is a fighter and will always dust herself off and get back up. She’s only human after all and I don’t think there’s many of us that would have dealt with it the way Nic has.

The past 4 years have been far from easy for Nic and us as a family. It’s one of those scenarios that you think will never happen to you, but unfortunately for us it has. However, Nic’s strength and love for life has kept us all positive and we will continue to spend valuable time together as a family, treasuring every minute and continuing to have hope.

Most of you will be able to relate to Nic’s situation and have either lost or know someone with cancer. Mum always says cancer doesn’t discriminate and anyone of us is vulnerable to this horrible illness. It affects so many lives but it’s not until it’s on your door step that you truly feel the heart break & devastation. Apart from telling Nic how much we love her and supporting her anyway we can there’s literally nothing we can do to take it away. I would give anything to change that.

We are creating this crowdfunding page to support Nic in her journey and to ensure that she has extra funds to pay for any medicines or treatments in the future if she so needs it. Since being diagnosed Nic has been given a drug called Herceptin, it is a target drug for HER2 the specific type of breast cancer Nic has. This is currently funded by the NHS however who’s to say it won’t be free forever. She has this drug alongside the other chemo and to date it seems to be working and is helping to keep the cancer at bay.

Nancie is now 4 and started big school in September 2018, making her mummy and daddy so proud. Nic and her husband Simon are so happy that they got to see this milestone in Nancie’s life.

Any donations big or small will be much appreciated. If anyone wants to do some fundraising and donate that would be amazing too. Thank you all for your support, love and best wishes over the past 4 years.

Love the Law/ Lidbetter family