TL;DR: I need some help covering business closure and accountancy costs, buying and insuring a new car and, if possible, it would mean the world if Lewis and I could treat ourselves to a small break away after the calamity of the last few years.

As many of you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of 2024, just six months after going self employed in recruiting. My intention was always to work independently as a one-woman show but sadly I am no longer able to continue and am now in the process of closing my business down.

Because I opened a limited company and became a company director I unknowingly put myself in a precarious position. I had no choice but to burn through all of my business income, the money set aside for tax purposes and eventually all of my personal savings. Nearly a year and a half later, once everything was completely gone, I was finally able to apply for UC which I’m incredibly grateful for but does not cover unexpected costs. During this time I thought I might lose my home and my Dad had to sell his car so that I could stay in my flat.

As my treatment plan was laid out in front of me I soon realised I would have to stop working. I was told to prepare for a rough 18 months and that I’d be starting treatment in two weeks.

I completed six months of chemotherapy, the kind where your pubes fall out and you poop your pants. It was the most surreal experience. Like doing drugs, but bad. Headaches, bone ache, throat ulcers, neuropathy, joint pain, rashes, relentless diarrhoea and nausea and a whole litany of other physical sensations that were completely new and difficult to describe.

I had surgery next to remove the tumors and thought that was the end of my journey. Sadly the presence of residual cancer meant I needed another 12 months of chemotherapy, which completely broke my heart at the time. I had radiotherapy in November 2024 and then began my next round of treatment in December 2024.

Last summer, in the midst of chemotherapy, I flew to Germany by myself to attend an event in an attempt to claw my business back. On day one of the event my partner, who also has cancer (stage 4 melanoma) suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by his radiotherapy treatment. His mother told me on the phone that he might not make it. I immediately flew back to the UK to be with my love.

After this I didn’t think of my business again. My priority was him and frankly I could not be consistent for any future clients. I had already rescheduled calls countless times due to sickness and recognised that I am no longer the woman I once was nor am I capable of being a reliable business partner at this time.

Miraculously, after a very arduous battle, my partner Lewis survived a brain bleed, brain surgery, and four months of hardcore immunotherapy. He has also had to give up his business and move back in with his parents for the remainder of his treatment. He has two years of immunotherapy still to go. We have been given a life expectancy for him, which I don't want to share here.

Now we find ourselves starting again from scratch, both of us and our future is uncertain. I am 34 now and he is 40 and we want to make the most of the time we have left together.

Starting again from nothing is incredibly difficult, something I have discovered the hard way. The final push to post this GoFundMe was my car being impounded. I was the victim of a licence plate cloning scam and reported to the police that my car’s plate had been cloned in London, only for MY car to be impounded instead. I don’t want to go to court to contest it because it’s too much stress. My car is now likely to be destroyed while I am still liable for impounding fees.

I cannot afford to buy or insure another car, which means I can no longer attend my volunteering commitments, commitments that were my gateway back to full time work. I am at my wits’ end and genuinely don’t know what to do anymore.

I want to earn money again but volunteering at an animal sanctuary has shown me that I need time to get back to my old self. Cancer treatment has aged me physically. I ache, tire easily and become run down if I overdo it. Hopefully, in time, I can take on more volunteer days as I rebuild my strength and work out my next move, whatever that may be.

Lewis and I are determined to overcome all of this cancer malarkey but unfortunately very few things in life are free. Most require a down payment or a monthly subscription. All it takes is one unexpected financial cost, like a failed MOT, to derail everything and it’s been an uphill battle for a long time now. I feel deeply embarrassed about asking for help and feel like a failure for having to shut down my business but one thing I’ve learned from two years as a cancer patient is that life is too short to work in recruitment.

I am nearly five months out from treatment and not 100 percent myself yet. My life is completely different now and so is my body. My business is gone, my savings are gone and I didn’t freeze my eggs, so the bloodline ends with me. But despite everything, I am grateful to be alive. I am grateful for my partner’s resilience and for the love and support of my friends and family who kept me sane during the hardest period of my life. I have lost so much but I have also gained so much more. Thank you to anyone who has read this far and can help.

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