Help Aldona Carroll Fight Secondary Brain Cancer.

The Cause. On the 25th May, my best friend Aldona Carroll (Donna to her friends and family) received the devastating news that the cancer she spent most of last year fighting had spread to her brain. Myself and Donna's nearest and dearest friends are trying to raise funds for our beloved friend Donna. The money raised may be used for any alternative treatments that may be available to her, holistic or otherwise. We would also like to be able to alleviate any unnecessary financial stress in the coming months whilst Donna fights to try and control the Secondary Brain Cancer. Ideally we would like to raise enough to enable her to save some for supporting her children's future. About Donna Donna is the most amazing, charismatic person and a true and loyal friend, we met at 17 and after a bit of a rocky start (disliked each other on sight!) our shared love of music soon bonded us and we some became the best of friends, and now we are like sisters. Having recently turned 38, Donna has devoted most of her adult life to single-handedly raising her children, Mitchell 17 and Olivia 14. Her children's needs have always come above her own and she has always showered them in her unconditional love and is the sole parental provider of guidance and support. Mitchell is currently at sixth form and hopes to be a biology teacher and Olivia is a fantastic student who achieves high marks in her subjects, both children are testament to the to the outstanding job Donna has done as a lone parent. Donna is a sister to four brothers, her youngest brother Josh was murdered in an unprovoked attack in 2013. During this horrendous time, Donna became the glue that held her family together and an unwavering pillar of support for their mother. Most recently employed in the local Post Office, Donna is a well loved and respected member of the community, known to readily go out of her way to make sure others are ok, and has always championed the underdog, standing up for others and being their voice. She is someone friends can turn to with their problems or for help and advice. Even with everything she has been through over the last year, she has selflessly been there for her family and friends. Donna's Diagnosis In March 2019, Donna was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, a notoriously difficult Cancer to treat. She kept her diagnosis to herself and only told a few very close friends, not wanting people to worry or treat her differently. Donna endured 12 rounds of weekly chemotherapy, then 4 rounds of 3 weekly chemo. This was followed by nipple sparing masectomy and clearance with tissue expander, designed to make reconstruction easier. Unfortunately, in the following weeks Donna had multiple problems, the drains they had implanted weren't working properly and her tissue started necrosis so she had to have another operation to remove all remaining tissue. This operation was followed up by a round of Radiotherapy around Christmas time. Throughout all of this, Donna's primary concern was her children and she was determined to minimise the effects and disruption to their lives.  After her treatment ended Donna's spirits slowly started to rise and she was slowly regaining her confidence, once again enjoying meeting with friends and returning to her normal role as the life and soul of any gathering. Below is a photo of us celebrating her 38th birthday in March, just before lockdown hit. A few weeks after this celebration Donna started suffering with severe headaches and after frequent trips to see drs with multiple symptoms, Donna collapsed again and a CT scan was given, it was then they diagnosed that the cancer had spread to her brain. The location and amount of tumors means it is inoperable and the damage to her right eye is permanent. Donna has had 10 sessions of radiotherapy and was put on the highest dose of steroids to relieve the pressure and swelling in her brain, currently the steroids are being reduced and she is having withdrawal symptoms from the reduced dose which in turn doesn’t make her feel great. Donna is awaiting a scan so she can then arrange and pay for private sessions of radiotherapy. Donna always remains positive with positive thoughts and energy all the way, her strength is amazing. We are all so very proud of her.