Fund Raising for Sandra Jones' Cancer fight

My name is Neil Jones, I have set up this Go Fund Me page in support of my big sister Sandra and her battle against cancer, who has recently been diagnosed with Terminal Metastatic Bone Cancer of the spine. As the little brother that absolutely terrorised her as a teenager, it’s only right that I do everything I can to support her now.

On 05 April 2016 Sandra was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, while trying to raise her 2 young children at the ages of 4 and 2 years. Not once did she let this affect her and she stayed positive for her young family. After extensive Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy treatment and various surgeries she was officially declared cancer free, but what comes with this horrible disease is life-long effects and so much medication that Sandra’s health has never been the same since. She has had a lot of underlying, issues such as cellulitis 20+ times which on many occasions led to Sepsis and hospitalisation. She has always fought so hard to not let her bad health affect daily family life. She has done an incredible job carrying on with her life despite her health conditions, working full time whilst raising her two beautiful children Brody, now aged 11 and Beau now aged 9 with her partner Adam.

Sandra is one of the most selfless people you would ever meet, she never puts herself before others and has always found a positive outlook in all that she does. She tackled cancer the first time around and refused to let it get in the way of raising her family and giving her children the very best start in life. Now at just 39 years old, she must get ready for another battle. Her positivity is honestly inspirational, to not only deal with Cancer once, but to be gearing up for another battle that she knows she will ultimately lose.

Over the last 6 months Sandra has been in severe pain with her back so decided to contact the doctors thinking she may possibly have fibromyalgia. The doctors sent her for a MRI scan but while she was waiting for the results she was in extreme pain in her back and was having spasms leading to her going into shock. She went to A&E where on arrival she was met by 2 oncology nurses who explained what was happening and where all the pain stems from. They explained parts of her spine (t7,t8 and t11} had gone from a concrete consistency (normal) to a honeycomb and were crumbling away and this is leading to compression of the spinal cord. This led to a 12-day stay in hospital with forced bed rest and not being allowed to move from a lying flat position whilst she was waiting for specialists to review her condition. She also had a CT scan for further investigation, by the bone specialist team in Oswestry to assess if an operation was possible.

Cruelly, 7 years to the day on 05 April 2023, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Terminal Metastatic Bone Cancer of the spine (specifically spine, pelvis, and femur), Lungs, Liver and Lymph Nodes. Explaining why mummy has been in the hospital for so long and that the cancer has come back was one of the hardest days she has lived and being honest and answering all the questions Brody and Beau have had to ask. They are fully aware that mummy isn’t going to live as long as she thought, and this is devastating for any child and family to go through.

Sandra was sent home with a back brace to protect her spine whilst travelling and has been told the movements she is unable to do from now. She can’t bend over to put shoes on, twist in any way, reach or grab anything at low or high levels beyond her natural reach, as well as so many more tasks we take for granted in day-to-day life. She needs so much help and care to put her trousers, socks and shoes on, help in the shower to clean herself and mobility and help just getting up off the sofa or out of bed. These have changed everything as well as taken away her independence. Her whole lifestyle is now limited and instead of caring for her children, they are now trying to care for her.

She has undergone radiotherapy and will soon be starting chemotherapy again. Not only will these treatments cause her health to deteriorate but as this secondary cancer isn’t curable, she will start to lose more mobility and will need adaptations in her home to support her. Sandra and her partner are still trying to work to bring money into the family home and to keep the normality to family life. They are a very active bunch. Sandra usually takes her 2 children to kickboxing lessons 3 times a week as well as swimming, art classes and also helps run their son's u12s football team with her partner and 2 other parents.

Sandra and Adam were due to be married on June 28th this year abroad in Greece on their 16-year anniversary and with this awful news they have had to cancel.

Her energy levels are nowhere near what they used to be, so we are seeking funding to adapt her living. She will need a stair lift and a wheelchair so she can have days out with her family to make lasting memories without becoming too fatigued. She needs her bathroom to be converted into a wet room with wheelchair access, so she can safely shower and keep being the independent woman she has always been.

I have set up this go fund me page so that Sandra can make some more memories with her children that will stay with them forever. Although several charities such as Macmillan do a fantastic job and can offer some level of support, there isn’t an everlasting pot of money that can be accessed. Sandra wants to make the most of the time she has with her family making memories, especially while she has some mobility and energy.

Please support this cause to help a very deserving family make the most of the time they have left together.