Help Sophie's battle with Leukaemia
Donation protected
Hey legends!
3 years ago, I met the beautiful, carefree, fun-loving girl from Bristol, Sophie, and in those 3 years we have had the most amazing adventures together with so much more planned for the future.
Many of you will know and understand the battles that Sophie has faced the past couple of years. At 29 years of age she has faced more challenges than most people will encounter in a lifetime. Just recently, things were looking great, and we purchased our dream home, well kind of... it’s a bus which we are in the process of converting into a home that will enable us to travel this great country and enjoy everything life has to offer. For us, that dream is still alive, but we have been thrown another curve ball just now.
For those of you who are unaware, here is some background on Sophie’s medical details:
In August 2017 Sophie found out that she had the BRCA1 gene mutation which is a catalyst for breast cancer. Sophie being Sophie got on the front foot and made the decision to have a preventative double mastectomy in June 2018 followed by reconstructive surgery in October 2018 whilst we were living in Bristol, UK.
Earlier this year Sophie and I returned back to Australia, and the future looked so bright while working hard and converting our dream bus together.
However, on August 1st, 2019, Sophie received a call that would change her life forever. A routine blood test had returned some bad news and she was instructed to get to Flinders Medical Centre immediately to be admitted for more testing. After a very anxious wait, a bone marrow biopsy then confirmed she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. To make matters worst the subtype of AML that Sophie has been diagnosed with is very rare and known to be high risk which complicates things further.
Since diagnosis, Sophie has had many discussions with haematology consultants at both Flinders and RAH to determine the best way forward. On Saturday, August 17, Sophie chose to have her breast implants removed in the hope that it may assist her immune system to fight this disease.
On Monday August 26, Sophie was admitted to the RAH to commence induction chemotherapy. This is the beginning of what will be an extremely challenging time for Sophie and all of her family and friends as it involves being confined to the ward in the hospital for a minimum of 4-5 weeks. Towards the end of this time another bone marrow biopsy will be taken to see how her body responded, then either another induction round of chemo (4-5 weeks) or further consolidation chemotherapy.
At that stage if the cancer is in remission she will have no choice but to undergo a stem cell transplant for the best chance of survival due to her high risk leukaemia. This is a complex and dangerous time which will require further long-term hospital stays whilst the body adjusts to the donor cells.
We all know how resilient she is, and if anyone can conquer this horrible disease it is Sophie. Cancer does not discriminate. Although Sophie has been dealt another horrible deck of cards, she also has several things in her favour… age, fitness, positive attitude, and a bunch of amazing people around her to share this journey together.
As Sophie will not be able to return to work for a long period of time whilst battling this disease, we are putting the call out for donations, which will initially help with loss of income, medical costs, and anything else that may arise in the immediate future to beat this and help her recovery. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated by myself, Sophie and my family.
I will use this platform to provide updates on Sophie’s progress. Please join me to let Sophie know she is not alone, and we are all in this together.
Cheers, and much love!
Stubs x
3 years ago, I met the beautiful, carefree, fun-loving girl from Bristol, Sophie, and in those 3 years we have had the most amazing adventures together with so much more planned for the future.
Many of you will know and understand the battles that Sophie has faced the past couple of years. At 29 years of age she has faced more challenges than most people will encounter in a lifetime. Just recently, things were looking great, and we purchased our dream home, well kind of... it’s a bus which we are in the process of converting into a home that will enable us to travel this great country and enjoy everything life has to offer. For us, that dream is still alive, but we have been thrown another curve ball just now.
For those of you who are unaware, here is some background on Sophie’s medical details:
In August 2017 Sophie found out that she had the BRCA1 gene mutation which is a catalyst for breast cancer. Sophie being Sophie got on the front foot and made the decision to have a preventative double mastectomy in June 2018 followed by reconstructive surgery in October 2018 whilst we were living in Bristol, UK.
Earlier this year Sophie and I returned back to Australia, and the future looked so bright while working hard and converting our dream bus together.
However, on August 1st, 2019, Sophie received a call that would change her life forever. A routine blood test had returned some bad news and she was instructed to get to Flinders Medical Centre immediately to be admitted for more testing. After a very anxious wait, a bone marrow biopsy then confirmed she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. To make matters worst the subtype of AML that Sophie has been diagnosed with is very rare and known to be high risk which complicates things further.
Since diagnosis, Sophie has had many discussions with haematology consultants at both Flinders and RAH to determine the best way forward. On Saturday, August 17, Sophie chose to have her breast implants removed in the hope that it may assist her immune system to fight this disease.
On Monday August 26, Sophie was admitted to the RAH to commence induction chemotherapy. This is the beginning of what will be an extremely challenging time for Sophie and all of her family and friends as it involves being confined to the ward in the hospital for a minimum of 4-5 weeks. Towards the end of this time another bone marrow biopsy will be taken to see how her body responded, then either another induction round of chemo (4-5 weeks) or further consolidation chemotherapy.
At that stage if the cancer is in remission she will have no choice but to undergo a stem cell transplant for the best chance of survival due to her high risk leukaemia. This is a complex and dangerous time which will require further long-term hospital stays whilst the body adjusts to the donor cells.
We all know how resilient she is, and if anyone can conquer this horrible disease it is Sophie. Cancer does not discriminate. Although Sophie has been dealt another horrible deck of cards, she also has several things in her favour… age, fitness, positive attitude, and a bunch of amazing people around her to share this journey together.
As Sophie will not be able to return to work for a long period of time whilst battling this disease, we are putting the call out for donations, which will initially help with loss of income, medical costs, and anything else that may arise in the immediate future to beat this and help her recovery. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated by myself, Sophie and my family.
I will use this platform to provide updates on Sophie’s progress. Please join me to let Sophie know she is not alone, and we are all in this together.
Cheers, and much love!
Stubs x
Organizer and beneficiary
Luke Barraclough
Organizer
South Brighton, SA
Sophie Patnicroft-Gray
Beneficiary