Ashleigh needs your support
Donation protected
My daughter needs her mummy.
Oncologists in Australia diagnosed me with stage 4 ‘terminal’ breast cancer in 2019. They gave me no hope of surviving and have previously told me to admit myself to palliative care and prepare to die.
In November 2019 that was almost the case. I was so close to death I could feel it. The Doctor gave me 4 weeks to live. The cancer had spread so far it was in my breast, lymph nodes, in every bone in my body from head to knees, ovary, lung and bone marrow after previous treatment had failed. I could not walk – I was bed ridden. The cancer had caused my back to brake in 2 different places. I was relying on blood donors to keep me alive. I considered the pain a similar intensity to childbirth, but it was constant. Pain killers didn’t even scratch the surface. Energy levels so low at times I couldn’t lift my arm. I was just 40kgs (80lbs). Looking back I honestly don’t know how we got through it….
Lucky for me, my husband came across a cancer clinic in Thailand (Verita Life) that has been able to help me. They have treatments that are not available in Australia. In December 2019 I was lucky enough to travel to this clinic for life saving treatment, and boy did it save my life!
After 12 weeks of intensive treatment at Verita Life, the improvement was remarkable. I had put on 9kgs (19lbs). I was walking again; dancing again! I was completely off my pain medication and in no pain. The cancer activity has reduced dramatically (see PET scan comparison in picture). It was a miracle. I was full of gratitude and saw life through different eyes (and still do). My Doctor had explained to me that it’s likely I would need to return at some point for round 2 of treatment, and a certain type of immunotherapy to prevent the cancer from returning.
I returned home in March 2020 for a break, just in time before Covid-19 lockdown. I continued to heal from home on my strict home program from Verita Life. In August 2020 a scan revealed slight resistance to home treatment and my doctor confirmed that it was time for round 2 in Thailand.
Unfortunately all of the treatments needed have been so expensive. I have used up all of my superannuation, life insurance and the generous donations from our family and friends. I have also got myself into about $200,000 worth of debt and I’m really struggling to fund any more treatment.
The costs involved are roughly $12,000 per week while at the clinic. Maintenance treatments in Australia have been about $1,500 per week. My poor husband has flogged himself trying to fund this trip, trying to avoid asking for help – But the sad reality is we really need donations.
Ways you can help:
- Donating money via GoFundMe.
- Sharing this page on your social media platforms, and asking your friends to share as well.
- Creating a fundraiser at work, with friends or other social groups etc.
- By donating goods and/or services that can be used in a raffle.
- By sharing with me any good fundraising ideas you may have.
My Detailed Story from start to finish -
Most of you will know I have been fighting, literally fighting Estrogen positive stage 4 breast cancer for the last 19 months. Soon after my wedding to Tim, I found a lump in my left breast, the diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer with lymph node metastases quickly followed in March 2019. The news was devastating; we had gone from a happy carefree family of 3, to that of shock, upset and uncertainty. Australian doctors wanted to put me on a harsh regime of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, radiation and hormone blockers with a poor long-term prognosis. I was all too aware of the destruction that full dose chemotherapy has upon your body and how it can hinder true recovery after watching my dad suffer and pass away in 2015. My gut feeling said no this regime of full dose chemo and I quicky decided to pack a suitcase, say goodbye to my family and travel to a clinic I knew about in Mexico called Hope4Cancer who offered alternative ways to beat it. I was adamant I was going to survive it and survive it well. So my journey began…
After arriving in Mexico March 2019, and before my proposed chemo start day in Australia, I started feeling an intense pain in my left rib. A bone scan performed at a later date confirmed the pain I was feeling – that the cancer had spread from my lymph nodes to my bones. I was now considered ‘Stage 4’ and deemed incurable. The clinic I was at has had successes with curing people with stage 4 ‘terminal’ cancers previously, so although my fear, hurt and pain grew inside, I tried to remain hopeful and confident that I would be healed.
I spent 3 weeks trying natural treatments, which included Sono-Photo Dynamic Therapy, Sunivera, whole body and local hyperthermia, B17 and Vitamin C IV’s, Coffee enemas and colonics, Near infrared lamp therapy, Ultra-Violet biological irradiation, ozone therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF), lymphatic draining massage, behaviour emotional and spiritual therapy. I was well aware that natural treatments alone can take longer to work, and I knew that due to the quick progression of my illness, there was no hope for a cure using conventional medicine. I returned home to spend some much-needed time with my daughter and family, all the while worrying about the increased pain throughout my bones. A scan revealed a lot of progression in the bones and a risk of damage to my spinal cord due to a broken back caused by the cancer in my vertebrae. I had lost a lot of mobility. By July 2019, Hope4Cancer recommended I return for another 3-week program of intensive natural treatments.
Once again, the treatments were not successful and I returned home Aug 2019 with feelings of despair having spent most of our money and had no response. In hindsight, 3 weeks’ worth of treatments were nowhere near enough to reverse the cancer in my body. My immune system was healthy, but cancer was spreading rapidly throughout my body and I was getting closer to death every day. The pain throughout my entire skeletal system continued to increase and I began to lose more energy, a lot of weight, my mind was not thinking clearly and I began to stop being able to do normal things that people do like preparing a meal, cleaning the house or look after my daughter.
In November 2019, I was bed ridden weighing just 40kg. I had no energy and was in the most intense constant pain throughout my whole skeletal system. I would lie in bed screaming almost every night. Performing simple tasks like washing my body in the shower and brushing my teeth became almost impossible. Furthermore, trying to shield Isla who was only 3 was another daily struggle but my family and friends all chipped in and we managed to keep some form of normality for her.
The scan in November 2019 showed the cancer had now spread to my ovary, lung and bone marrow. My back was also broken in 2 spots. An Australian oncologist informed me that due to the bone marrow metastasis, I had just 4 weeks to live, and encouraged me to start chemotherapy. My husband asked the question ‘What would chemotherapy do for her?’ the response was ‘well it may extend her life by a few months’. He then asked while looking at my weak body ‘Do you think she will survive chemo?’ Her answer was a long pause followed by ‘Well, perhaps not’.
My husband had come across a cancer clinic in Thailand called Verita Life who looked to have quite good results for people even with stage 4 cancers. Relief flooded over me when I had a phone consultation with Dr Hossami at Verita Life who went through his proposed treatment plan, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful again. Verita Life offered an alternative to full dose chemotherapy called insulin potentiated therapy (IPT) chemo, where by the body is starved of glucose making the cancer cells hungry. This meant much smaller doses of chemotherapy could be used (15-20% of the standard dose) to achieve a response. We felt this was something my body could handle and with a massive leap of faith I left for Thailand in a wheelchair with my Mum, husband and daughter. The words of one of my Australian oncologists ringing in my ears ‘if you go to Thailand you won’t be coming back’.
I was so ill at this point, I honestly don’t know how I survived the journey and the first 3 weeks at Verita Life were spent receiving blood transfusions to prepare my body for the treatment to come. The treatment I received at Verita Life consisted of low dose IV chemotherapy; daily intravenous infusions of curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol, L-Carnitine and artesunate to target the cancer stem cells, whilst the low dose chemo targeted the fast dividing cells. In addition, metronomic (daily very low dose oral chemo), hormone blockers, numerous supplements, immune boosters, some off label pharmaceuticals and high dose IV Vitamin C were used. I was placed on a mainly ketogenic diet to avoid feeding my glucose loving cancer. I felt very looked after and cared for and quickly things started to turn around, the combination of modified conventional medicine alongside alternative therapies and immune boosting strategies was starting to work. My pain started to subside and one day around week 5, I woke up pain free! Twelve weeks later I left the clinic walking, zumbaring and yogaring. I was cancer free in my bone marrow, ovary and lung. My broken back had healed and all that was remaining was one small tumour in the breast, a couple in the lymph nodes and some activity scattered in the bones. I had also managed to gain a healthy 9kg due to high quality organic food I was being fed. Flying back to Oz I felt as though a miracle had occurred, a PET scan confirmed the amazing results and my Australian oncologists were surprised, if not slightly dumbfounded to say the least. Whilst at home I continued a maintenance regime of metronomic chemo plus supplements and my tumour markers continued to decrease and fell within normal range.
So I could access the IV curcumin and vitamin C plus hyperthermia treatment I drove a 10 hour round trip leaving home for 2-3 days each week. The maintenance regime cost around $1,500 per week, but it was a small price to pay to continue healing.
I continued to be monitored from afar by the Verita Life doctors via blood tests and PET scans. Things were going well until on the day of my 29th birthday I was advised to make the trip back to Bangkok. The recent PET scan showed signs of increased activity in the breast tissue and rib cage; I knew I needed to act quickly. However, the world had changed and we were in the middle of a global pandemic, both Australian and Thai borders were closed. It was no longer as easy as jumping on a flight, but determined to nip the cancer in the bud once and for all I started the month long application process of applying to the Australian border force to leave the country and the Royal
Thai embassy to enter Thailand. I meticulously gathered the required letters of support from my Australian oncologist, who was now willing to accept this was the way forward for me, the letters of the support from Verita Life and submitted my medical history. I was required to provide evidence of necessary travel insurance covering for COVID, arrange COVID testing prior to flying, obtain a ‘fit to fly certificate, apply for a medical tourist visa and secure a place on a repatriation flight from Sydney to Bangkok. There were so many working parts to the application I felt like my head would explode, especially in the last 5 days prior to departure. One mistake, one missing piece of documentation meant I could miss boarding the flight and delay my return. I finally achieved the Certificate of Entry from the Thai Government and my 14 days hospital quarantine was booked. I applied for the interstate border pass to travel from Queensland to NSW, this time however, I was travelling alone.
I am back on low dose chemotherapy, the natural IV infusions, hyperthermia treatment and immune boosting supplements plus a new treatment – natural killer cell therapy. For this, blood is taken from me, my natural killer cells (a type of white blood cells that fight viruses and cancer cells) are harvested and cultured in a laboratory, and the numbers are greatly amplified before infusing back into my blood to help with the fight.
My return to Verita life has been met with mixed emotions, I feel eternally blessed for being given the chance to return during COVID when many other Ozzies are still fighting to get their applications accepted. However, I am extremely aware that I may not get a ‘third’ shot at this.
We appreciate everyone has already given so much and we are eternally grateful, but if anyone is in the position to help in anyway, now would be the time. I have used up all of my superannuation, life insurance and the generous donations from our family and friends. I have also got myself into about $200,000 worth of debt and we are really struggling to fund any more treatment.
I know I am here to stay, I have to be to see my daughter grow up. Thank you all so much for your love and support.
Love Ashleigh x
Oncologists in Australia diagnosed me with stage 4 ‘terminal’ breast cancer in 2019. They gave me no hope of surviving and have previously told me to admit myself to palliative care and prepare to die.
In November 2019 that was almost the case. I was so close to death I could feel it. The Doctor gave me 4 weeks to live. The cancer had spread so far it was in my breast, lymph nodes, in every bone in my body from head to knees, ovary, lung and bone marrow after previous treatment had failed. I could not walk – I was bed ridden. The cancer had caused my back to brake in 2 different places. I was relying on blood donors to keep me alive. I considered the pain a similar intensity to childbirth, but it was constant. Pain killers didn’t even scratch the surface. Energy levels so low at times I couldn’t lift my arm. I was just 40kgs (80lbs). Looking back I honestly don’t know how we got through it….
Lucky for me, my husband came across a cancer clinic in Thailand (Verita Life) that has been able to help me. They have treatments that are not available in Australia. In December 2019 I was lucky enough to travel to this clinic for life saving treatment, and boy did it save my life!
After 12 weeks of intensive treatment at Verita Life, the improvement was remarkable. I had put on 9kgs (19lbs). I was walking again; dancing again! I was completely off my pain medication and in no pain. The cancer activity has reduced dramatically (see PET scan comparison in picture). It was a miracle. I was full of gratitude and saw life through different eyes (and still do). My Doctor had explained to me that it’s likely I would need to return at some point for round 2 of treatment, and a certain type of immunotherapy to prevent the cancer from returning.
I returned home in March 2020 for a break, just in time before Covid-19 lockdown. I continued to heal from home on my strict home program from Verita Life. In August 2020 a scan revealed slight resistance to home treatment and my doctor confirmed that it was time for round 2 in Thailand.
Unfortunately all of the treatments needed have been so expensive. I have used up all of my superannuation, life insurance and the generous donations from our family and friends. I have also got myself into about $200,000 worth of debt and I’m really struggling to fund any more treatment.
The costs involved are roughly $12,000 per week while at the clinic. Maintenance treatments in Australia have been about $1,500 per week. My poor husband has flogged himself trying to fund this trip, trying to avoid asking for help – But the sad reality is we really need donations.
Ways you can help:
- Donating money via GoFundMe.
- Sharing this page on your social media platforms, and asking your friends to share as well.
- Creating a fundraiser at work, with friends or other social groups etc.
- By donating goods and/or services that can be used in a raffle.
- By sharing with me any good fundraising ideas you may have.
My Detailed Story from start to finish -
Most of you will know I have been fighting, literally fighting Estrogen positive stage 4 breast cancer for the last 19 months. Soon after my wedding to Tim, I found a lump in my left breast, the diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer with lymph node metastases quickly followed in March 2019. The news was devastating; we had gone from a happy carefree family of 3, to that of shock, upset and uncertainty. Australian doctors wanted to put me on a harsh regime of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, radiation and hormone blockers with a poor long-term prognosis. I was all too aware of the destruction that full dose chemotherapy has upon your body and how it can hinder true recovery after watching my dad suffer and pass away in 2015. My gut feeling said no this regime of full dose chemo and I quicky decided to pack a suitcase, say goodbye to my family and travel to a clinic I knew about in Mexico called Hope4Cancer who offered alternative ways to beat it. I was adamant I was going to survive it and survive it well. So my journey began…
After arriving in Mexico March 2019, and before my proposed chemo start day in Australia, I started feeling an intense pain in my left rib. A bone scan performed at a later date confirmed the pain I was feeling – that the cancer had spread from my lymph nodes to my bones. I was now considered ‘Stage 4’ and deemed incurable. The clinic I was at has had successes with curing people with stage 4 ‘terminal’ cancers previously, so although my fear, hurt and pain grew inside, I tried to remain hopeful and confident that I would be healed.
I spent 3 weeks trying natural treatments, which included Sono-Photo Dynamic Therapy, Sunivera, whole body and local hyperthermia, B17 and Vitamin C IV’s, Coffee enemas and colonics, Near infrared lamp therapy, Ultra-Violet biological irradiation, ozone therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF), lymphatic draining massage, behaviour emotional and spiritual therapy. I was well aware that natural treatments alone can take longer to work, and I knew that due to the quick progression of my illness, there was no hope for a cure using conventional medicine. I returned home to spend some much-needed time with my daughter and family, all the while worrying about the increased pain throughout my bones. A scan revealed a lot of progression in the bones and a risk of damage to my spinal cord due to a broken back caused by the cancer in my vertebrae. I had lost a lot of mobility. By July 2019, Hope4Cancer recommended I return for another 3-week program of intensive natural treatments.
Once again, the treatments were not successful and I returned home Aug 2019 with feelings of despair having spent most of our money and had no response. In hindsight, 3 weeks’ worth of treatments were nowhere near enough to reverse the cancer in my body. My immune system was healthy, but cancer was spreading rapidly throughout my body and I was getting closer to death every day. The pain throughout my entire skeletal system continued to increase and I began to lose more energy, a lot of weight, my mind was not thinking clearly and I began to stop being able to do normal things that people do like preparing a meal, cleaning the house or look after my daughter.
In November 2019, I was bed ridden weighing just 40kg. I had no energy and was in the most intense constant pain throughout my whole skeletal system. I would lie in bed screaming almost every night. Performing simple tasks like washing my body in the shower and brushing my teeth became almost impossible. Furthermore, trying to shield Isla who was only 3 was another daily struggle but my family and friends all chipped in and we managed to keep some form of normality for her.
The scan in November 2019 showed the cancer had now spread to my ovary, lung and bone marrow. My back was also broken in 2 spots. An Australian oncologist informed me that due to the bone marrow metastasis, I had just 4 weeks to live, and encouraged me to start chemotherapy. My husband asked the question ‘What would chemotherapy do for her?’ the response was ‘well it may extend her life by a few months’. He then asked while looking at my weak body ‘Do you think she will survive chemo?’ Her answer was a long pause followed by ‘Well, perhaps not’.
My husband had come across a cancer clinic in Thailand called Verita Life who looked to have quite good results for people even with stage 4 cancers. Relief flooded over me when I had a phone consultation with Dr Hossami at Verita Life who went through his proposed treatment plan, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful again. Verita Life offered an alternative to full dose chemotherapy called insulin potentiated therapy (IPT) chemo, where by the body is starved of glucose making the cancer cells hungry. This meant much smaller doses of chemotherapy could be used (15-20% of the standard dose) to achieve a response. We felt this was something my body could handle and with a massive leap of faith I left for Thailand in a wheelchair with my Mum, husband and daughter. The words of one of my Australian oncologists ringing in my ears ‘if you go to Thailand you won’t be coming back’.
I was so ill at this point, I honestly don’t know how I survived the journey and the first 3 weeks at Verita Life were spent receiving blood transfusions to prepare my body for the treatment to come. The treatment I received at Verita Life consisted of low dose IV chemotherapy; daily intravenous infusions of curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol, L-Carnitine and artesunate to target the cancer stem cells, whilst the low dose chemo targeted the fast dividing cells. In addition, metronomic (daily very low dose oral chemo), hormone blockers, numerous supplements, immune boosters, some off label pharmaceuticals and high dose IV Vitamin C were used. I was placed on a mainly ketogenic diet to avoid feeding my glucose loving cancer. I felt very looked after and cared for and quickly things started to turn around, the combination of modified conventional medicine alongside alternative therapies and immune boosting strategies was starting to work. My pain started to subside and one day around week 5, I woke up pain free! Twelve weeks later I left the clinic walking, zumbaring and yogaring. I was cancer free in my bone marrow, ovary and lung. My broken back had healed and all that was remaining was one small tumour in the breast, a couple in the lymph nodes and some activity scattered in the bones. I had also managed to gain a healthy 9kg due to high quality organic food I was being fed. Flying back to Oz I felt as though a miracle had occurred, a PET scan confirmed the amazing results and my Australian oncologists were surprised, if not slightly dumbfounded to say the least. Whilst at home I continued a maintenance regime of metronomic chemo plus supplements and my tumour markers continued to decrease and fell within normal range.
So I could access the IV curcumin and vitamin C plus hyperthermia treatment I drove a 10 hour round trip leaving home for 2-3 days each week. The maintenance regime cost around $1,500 per week, but it was a small price to pay to continue healing.
I continued to be monitored from afar by the Verita Life doctors via blood tests and PET scans. Things were going well until on the day of my 29th birthday I was advised to make the trip back to Bangkok. The recent PET scan showed signs of increased activity in the breast tissue and rib cage; I knew I needed to act quickly. However, the world had changed and we were in the middle of a global pandemic, both Australian and Thai borders were closed. It was no longer as easy as jumping on a flight, but determined to nip the cancer in the bud once and for all I started the month long application process of applying to the Australian border force to leave the country and the Royal
Thai embassy to enter Thailand. I meticulously gathered the required letters of support from my Australian oncologist, who was now willing to accept this was the way forward for me, the letters of the support from Verita Life and submitted my medical history. I was required to provide evidence of necessary travel insurance covering for COVID, arrange COVID testing prior to flying, obtain a ‘fit to fly certificate, apply for a medical tourist visa and secure a place on a repatriation flight from Sydney to Bangkok. There were so many working parts to the application I felt like my head would explode, especially in the last 5 days prior to departure. One mistake, one missing piece of documentation meant I could miss boarding the flight and delay my return. I finally achieved the Certificate of Entry from the Thai Government and my 14 days hospital quarantine was booked. I applied for the interstate border pass to travel from Queensland to NSW, this time however, I was travelling alone.
I am back on low dose chemotherapy, the natural IV infusions, hyperthermia treatment and immune boosting supplements plus a new treatment – natural killer cell therapy. For this, blood is taken from me, my natural killer cells (a type of white blood cells that fight viruses and cancer cells) are harvested and cultured in a laboratory, and the numbers are greatly amplified before infusing back into my blood to help with the fight.
My return to Verita life has been met with mixed emotions, I feel eternally blessed for being given the chance to return during COVID when many other Ozzies are still fighting to get their applications accepted. However, I am extremely aware that I may not get a ‘third’ shot at this.
We appreciate everyone has already given so much and we are eternally grateful, but if anyone is in the position to help in anyway, now would be the time. I have used up all of my superannuation, life insurance and the generous donations from our family and friends. I have also got myself into about $200,000 worth of debt and we are really struggling to fund any more treatment.
I know I am here to stay, I have to be to see my daughter grow up. Thank you all so much for your love and support.
Love Ashleigh x
Organizer and beneficiary
Kirsty Buchholz
Organizer
Ashleigh Thacker
Beneficiary