As most of you know our dear friend Kate was recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, at the age of only 22. Last year she graduated from St Peter’s College at Oxford University and by the time of her diagnosis in November, had moved on to studying a Law conversion masters. This diagnosis was a huge shock and has turned the lives of Kate and her family upside down. She was a happy, healthy young woman who enjoyed spending time with her loved ones and who was working hard to build a life for herself in London. Kate is being treated at University College London Hospital where she is being provided with the most advanced care.

Kate has undergone multiple intensive chemotherapy treatments over the last few months, but an unfavourable genetic mutation means that a bone marrow transplant is her only possible hope of a cure. If all goes to plan, Kate will have her transplant on 7th April. Once discharged, she will then have to spend at least three to six months renting temporary accommodation in London, so that she can return to the hospital most days for check-ups. The frequency of these checkups and the requirement for proximity to UCLH in the event of an emergency, means her pre-cancer accommodation is too far away to be safe. Moreover, it has no provision for her mum who will be her carer in these initial months of recovery. Transport to the hospital will also be costly, with her compromised immune system making taxis the only option. Kate hopes that the transplant will be successful. Even with a positive outcome, the nature of the treatment means that she will require extensive specialist fertility treatment, not all which is available through the NHS. These costs are not small. Kate has been forced to pause her training to become a solicitor indefinitely and so she is relying solely on help from her family at the moment.

The past five months have been incomprehensively horrific for Kate and all those who love her. We are hoping to raise some money to help ease Kate’s financial worries, allowing her and her family to focus on her long-term treatment and eventual recovery.