Help cover Alison's cancer treatment travel costs
Donation protected
Hi my name is Minta and I’m a friend and colleague of Alison & Kevin Sears. I met the Sears when they helped set up Richmond Parent Carer Forum (having been involved in the two previous forums). The Sears are well known on the local voluntary sector scene, working tirelessly over the last twenty years for various voluntary organisations based in Richmond Borough - the local branch of the National Autistic Society amongst others. They are devoted parents to their autistic son Allan, who is now 32 and works at Sainsbury’s in Tangley Park and attends college.
In autumn of 2021 Alison began to feel very unwell. She had not been eating much during the summer, but neither she nor Kevin questioned it. She had breathlessness and chest pain which were misdiagnosed. It was a routine blood test by Alison’s GP which revealed there was something seriously wrong. The GP called and said go to hospital NOW. After a battery of tests at Kingston Hospital in late September, Alison was given the devastating news that she had inoperable kidney cancer, which had spread to her lungs. She was referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham and began immunotherapy treatment there before Christmas. Despite an initially gloomy prognosis, and many setbacks, Alison has soldiered on and responded well to treatment, though she is understandably very tired and weak. She is receiving immunotherapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and will be on steroids indefinitely. In April she is scheduled to have an operation to remove a lump from her neck at St George’s, Tooting. She travels up to the Royal Marsden weekly for treatment from her home on Hampton Hill. This is where the family needs our support - the cost of travelling to and from the hospital by Uber is eating into Alison & Kevin’s savings. I would like to raise as much money as possible to cover the cost of these taxi rides - public transport is not an alternative as Alison now uses a wheelchair.
Let’s help this family through this difficult period. In doing so let’s thank them for their long-standing altruism and service to disabled children, young people and their families in Richmond borough.
Many thanks,
Minta xx
In autumn of 2021 Alison began to feel very unwell. She had not been eating much during the summer, but neither she nor Kevin questioned it. She had breathlessness and chest pain which were misdiagnosed. It was a routine blood test by Alison’s GP which revealed there was something seriously wrong. The GP called and said go to hospital NOW. After a battery of tests at Kingston Hospital in late September, Alison was given the devastating news that she had inoperable kidney cancer, which had spread to her lungs. She was referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham and began immunotherapy treatment there before Christmas. Despite an initially gloomy prognosis, and many setbacks, Alison has soldiered on and responded well to treatment, though she is understandably very tired and weak. She is receiving immunotherapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and will be on steroids indefinitely. In April she is scheduled to have an operation to remove a lump from her neck at St George’s, Tooting. She travels up to the Royal Marsden weekly for treatment from her home on Hampton Hill. This is where the family needs our support - the cost of travelling to and from the hospital by Uber is eating into Alison & Kevin’s savings. I would like to raise as much money as possible to cover the cost of these taxi rides - public transport is not an alternative as Alison now uses a wheelchair.
Let’s help this family through this difficult period. In doing so let’s thank them for their long-standing altruism and service to disabled children, young people and their families in Richmond borough.
Many thanks,
Minta xx
Organizer
AMINTA TOWNSHEND
Organizer
England