Help give Yasmin a fighting chance to live
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Yasmin is a 19 year old cheerleader, ice skater and performing arts student from Kent who has spent the last two years bravely battling aggressive cancer. She has been through countless rounds of intense chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions.
Her last round of chemotherapy has caused neuropathy which means she can no longer walk or even pick things up.
On January 5th, 4 days before her 19th birthday the doctors have said there is no longer anything they can do.
But there is a glimmer of hope in the form of a drug that may give her a chance to live.
However this drug is not available on the NHS, so Yasmin's family need to find more than £20,000 a year to give her a fighting chance of a good life.
We are asking to help give Yas a chance to live by donating to her GoFundMe page and sharing her story.
Please scroll down for the full story.
At the age of 17 Yasmin’s life was filled with sport, cheerleading, ice skating, performing, and being a qualified cheerleading coach. Yas had always been incredibly fit and healthy.
It was a massive shock to Yas and her family when she suddenly fell ill in February 2019. What started with a lump in her throat was diagnosed as cancer, specifically T lymphoblastic lymphoma.
Yas was admitted to hospital and after being on a ventilator for several days she began rigorous treatment. Yas had a long and difficult battle in front of her including six months of intensive chemotherapy and the consultants expected a further two years of treatment. She had numerous admissions to hospital and countless blood and platelet transfusions.
During 2020 the outlook started to look brighter with treatment going well. Yasmin was able to go back to college and with the maintenance on her chemotherapy, she finally got back into the dance studio again and had a chance to regain her life.
The pandemic hit and we all had to cope with lockdown due to Coronavirus then Yasmin started to feel unwell again in September 2020. She was taken to the Royal Marsden in Sutton for a CT scan. On 22 September 2020, the family’s worst fears were confirmed, the tumour in Yas’s chest had aggressively returned as well as there being signs of cancer in her bone marrow. Yas was diagnosed as now also having ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia).
Yas was started on another round of intensive chemotherapy and was put on a clinical trial in the hopes that this would help beat the cancer in her bone marrow so that she could be given a bone marrow transplant.
After a very intense few weeks, Yasmin had another bone marrow aspiration to check that the cancer was responding and reducing- the family waited a long week for the results. The cancer had reduced from 68% to 20% in her bone marrow – good news, it appeared that the chemo was working.
All this time Yas and her Mum, Kirsty were still in the Royal Marsden, not allowed visits from their family and friends due to the ongoing pandemic.
In November 2020, Yasmin was “blue lighted” from the Royal Marsden to St. George’s, she had lost all feeling in her left side and it was suspected she had had a stroke. It was confirmed by MRI the stroke symptoms were actually related to the harsh chemotherapy, but they still needed to put Yasmin on another intensive cycle of a different chemo drug to try to reduce the cancer further.
This is when things changed for the worse, her last chemo, which they call Nectar, caused havoc with her body. Yas is currently suffering with neuropathy in her hands and feet which means she can no longer walk or even pick things up to hold as the chemo has attacked her nervous system. Yasmin now has an NG tube in her nose to help feed her as well as a catheter fitted because she can no longer walk.
On the 5th January 2021, just four days before her 19th birthday, a PET scan confirmed the worst, despite all the excruciating treatments she has been through, the tumour is still alive. Her parents, Kirsty and Paul, were told by her doctors that there is no longer anything they can do to help save her and they will lose their daughter to this horrific illness.
After all that the family had been through, they could not accept this. Yasmin’s case was sent to a meeting of top consultants across the UK and the world.
The outcome was not what they wanted but there is a small glimmer of hope in the form of a drug that could possibly assist to push her into remission and give her a chance to live her life. However this drug is currently not available on the NHS and the family will have to pay more than £20,000 every year with an indefinite time frame.
This is Yasmin’s last option. Yas really wants to be given the chance to fight. She is one strong girl and we want to be able to give her this chance. We are asking for your help in raising the money to help support Yasmin and her family through this heart breaking time.
Yas remains in the Royal Marsden being looked after by her Mum, Dad and a fabulous team of medical professionals. Her younger brothers Connor and Dylan are at home being looked after by their grandparents, they haven’t seen their Mum or sister in months.
Please help us raise money to get Yas back on her feet and reunite her family.
Her last round of chemotherapy has caused neuropathy which means she can no longer walk or even pick things up.
On January 5th, 4 days before her 19th birthday the doctors have said there is no longer anything they can do.
But there is a glimmer of hope in the form of a drug that may give her a chance to live.
However this drug is not available on the NHS, so Yasmin's family need to find more than £20,000 a year to give her a fighting chance of a good life.
We are asking to help give Yas a chance to live by donating to her GoFundMe page and sharing her story.
Please scroll down for the full story.
At the age of 17 Yasmin’s life was filled with sport, cheerleading, ice skating, performing, and being a qualified cheerleading coach. Yas had always been incredibly fit and healthy.
It was a massive shock to Yas and her family when she suddenly fell ill in February 2019. What started with a lump in her throat was diagnosed as cancer, specifically T lymphoblastic lymphoma.
Yas was admitted to hospital and after being on a ventilator for several days she began rigorous treatment. Yas had a long and difficult battle in front of her including six months of intensive chemotherapy and the consultants expected a further two years of treatment. She had numerous admissions to hospital and countless blood and platelet transfusions.
During 2020 the outlook started to look brighter with treatment going well. Yasmin was able to go back to college and with the maintenance on her chemotherapy, she finally got back into the dance studio again and had a chance to regain her life.
The pandemic hit and we all had to cope with lockdown due to Coronavirus then Yasmin started to feel unwell again in September 2020. She was taken to the Royal Marsden in Sutton for a CT scan. On 22 September 2020, the family’s worst fears were confirmed, the tumour in Yas’s chest had aggressively returned as well as there being signs of cancer in her bone marrow. Yas was diagnosed as now also having ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia).
Yas was started on another round of intensive chemotherapy and was put on a clinical trial in the hopes that this would help beat the cancer in her bone marrow so that she could be given a bone marrow transplant.
After a very intense few weeks, Yasmin had another bone marrow aspiration to check that the cancer was responding and reducing- the family waited a long week for the results. The cancer had reduced from 68% to 20% in her bone marrow – good news, it appeared that the chemo was working.
All this time Yas and her Mum, Kirsty were still in the Royal Marsden, not allowed visits from their family and friends due to the ongoing pandemic.
In November 2020, Yasmin was “blue lighted” from the Royal Marsden to St. George’s, she had lost all feeling in her left side and it was suspected she had had a stroke. It was confirmed by MRI the stroke symptoms were actually related to the harsh chemotherapy, but they still needed to put Yasmin on another intensive cycle of a different chemo drug to try to reduce the cancer further.
This is when things changed for the worse, her last chemo, which they call Nectar, caused havoc with her body. Yas is currently suffering with neuropathy in her hands and feet which means she can no longer walk or even pick things up to hold as the chemo has attacked her nervous system. Yasmin now has an NG tube in her nose to help feed her as well as a catheter fitted because she can no longer walk.
On the 5th January 2021, just four days before her 19th birthday, a PET scan confirmed the worst, despite all the excruciating treatments she has been through, the tumour is still alive. Her parents, Kirsty and Paul, were told by her doctors that there is no longer anything they can do to help save her and they will lose their daughter to this horrific illness.
After all that the family had been through, they could not accept this. Yasmin’s case was sent to a meeting of top consultants across the UK and the world.
The outcome was not what they wanted but there is a small glimmer of hope in the form of a drug that could possibly assist to push her into remission and give her a chance to live her life. However this drug is currently not available on the NHS and the family will have to pay more than £20,000 every year with an indefinite time frame.
This is Yasmin’s last option. Yas really wants to be given the chance to fight. She is one strong girl and we want to be able to give her this chance. We are asking for your help in raising the money to help support Yasmin and her family through this heart breaking time.
Yas remains in the Royal Marsden being looked after by her Mum, Dad and a fabulous team of medical professionals. Her younger brothers Connor and Dylan are at home being looked after by their grandparents, they haven’t seen their Mum or sister in months.
Please help us raise money to get Yas back on her feet and reunite her family.
Organizer and beneficiary
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Organizer
England
Kirsty Kerkham
Beneficiary