HELP ME RAISE MONEY FOR MY DAUGHTER CHARLOTTES RARE PSEUDOMYXOMA PERITONEI CANCER (PMP)

 

A week before my daughters 24th birthday we discovered she has a rare cancer that starts in your appendix. The chances of getting this cancer are 2 in a million, to give you context – there are 68 million people in the UK, 136 people will get this cancer. That’s pretty unlucky I am sure you will agree!

A little bit about my Charlotte, she was born in Newcastle, she went to St Marys RC in Longbenton and then did her A Levels at Newcastle Sixth Form College, we have lived in Forest Hall and Benton for the last 10 years. When she was younger, we lived in Hexham, Whitley Bay, West Allotment and even spent time living in France. Charlotte went to the University of Glasgow to do her degree, and now she lives in Paisley on the outskirts of Glasgow with her partner Dimitrios, who is Greek and is an amazing guy. She has 3 beautiful cats Oscar, Olivia and Opal, and she adores them. Charlotte works full time, she loves her job and has some amazing friends who are doing all they can to support her through this very tough time.

What Happened:

For the last few months Charlotte started getting bigger around her tummy, like most girls she thought she was just putting on weight. She started experiencing bloating and cramps, again she put down to female problems. After changing her diet and trying different things, she continued to get bigger. 8 weeks ago she started also having back pain the cramps increased and migraines started daily/every other day. She went to the doctors for blood tests, and her inflammatory marker was 80 (over 10 is severe). The doctor advised we go straight to A&E as she was flying to Greece the next day to attend a wedding and meet Dimitrios family. We were in A&E for 6 hours they booked an ultrasound for 2 week’s time and told her she was safe to fly.

While in Greece, Dimitrios’ family arranged for a private ultrasound and 2 CT scans, as Charlotte was getting more and more unwell, she couldn’t eat, sleep and in the end couldn’t hold down water. The scans revealed a giant mass above her right ovary and appendix, at that point it measured 22cm x 16.5cm x 21.5cm – it was huge!

Charlotte flew home straight away we got her admitted to hospital in Paisley, unfortunately while in hospital the mass continued to grow a lot and ruptured slightly, she was then blue lighted to Glasgow Royal and operated on the next day. In that operation they removed, her appendix, her right ovary, 6 litres of fluid and the mass/cyst which weighed 8 kilos, yes 8 – the average baby weighs 3.5 kilos!

The cancer is still inside of her currently, at the time of her operation on the 5th of October it’s covering her spleen, on her left ovary, attached to the peritoneum wall in her abdomen and her small bowel - we also have no idea how fast this is growing, or when her next operation will be, she has a long road ahead.

I have set up this go fund me for several reasons, one, I need Charlotte to put all her strength into getting strong for this next operation and beating this cancer. And two, because although no one prepares for cancer, it can normally be treated close to home.

Unfortunately, due to how rare the cancer is, you can’t get treatment in Scotland or Newcastle. The centre that specialises in this cancer is in Basingstoke on the outskirts of London. The next step is for Charlotte to have another massive operation of 10-14 hours, they will use a treatment called HIPEC, and she will need to be in hospital for a minimum of 3 weeks and we will need to all be in Basingstoke for a month minimum.

I don’t want Charlotte and Dimitrios worrying about money as well as beating cancer, and if I had this money, I would give it to them in a heartbeat. We don’t know how long it will take for Charlotte to be able to return to work full time after the second operation, Dimitrios has had to go part time to care for her as there are so many things she struggles to do now. We also all need to move to Basingstoke for a month as well while she has her next operation and is in hospital.

£10,000 may seem like a lot of money and I know the cost of living is hurting all of us, so I am asking you to help me get 2000 people to donate £5.00. If you can donate more excellent, we really appreciate it, and if you can give £5.00 that’s amazing – Thank you!!

Thanks in advance and lots of love

Kerry xxx

****IMPORTANT UPDATE PLEASE READ**** 

We finally have a date for Charlottes next operation, which is the 28th of February. Initially we were told the second operation would be around 6 weeks from the first operation on the 5th of October 2023, but it is going to be closer to 5 months when this actually happens.  

Unfortunately, during this wait time Charlotte has not been able to return to work and Dimitrios has had to go down to part time to care for her. They have already told us that after the next operation she won’t be able to work for approximately 3 to 6 months. 

This is due to the impact of what they are doing to her body and how compromised her immune system will be. She has already had her appendix, her right ovary and the 8-kilo cyst removed. The next operation with also take her left ovary, her cervix and uterus, her spleen, her gallbladder, parts of her peritoneum lining and potentially some of her small bowel. That’s before they start the long process of peeling off the remaining cancer from wherever it touches within her peritoneum. 

After this operation, Charlotte will go straight into menopause at 24 and will be living with a minimum of 6 of her organs removed – which is terrifying for her and us.

 I have discovered over the last few months, that unless you are fairly well off, you can’t afford to have cancer, the help available is very limited and in some cases £0, hence why we have had to raise the go fund me goal amount (Sorry ☹). 

You have all been so very kind, I am asking that you share Charlottes story far and wide as every single donation is making a difference, I promise you!  

Please help my beautiful girl - love Kerry (Charlottes mam)