Hello all,

I would like to tell you about my hero and best friend, my mum. Antoinette is the heart of our family. Not only is she the best grandmother to 6 little ones but Mum’s caring nature saw her dedicate 43 years to the NHS working at the Royal London Hospital. She has helped so many people over the years that she gets recognised by ex-paitents on a regular basis. Mum went above and beyond as an auxiliary nurse and always strived to do more. Therefore, she studied to become a Registered Nurse and recently retired from her role as a Ward Sister. Sadly, within months of saying goodbye to the working world, she suddenly found herself unable to eat, and was rushed to hospital. It was there that our family became crushed as we discovered a horrible Cancer taking over her body!

The cancer was blocking her small intestine and a couple of month ago she an operation to bypass the blocked section. She endured a massive setback due to a leak which caused major bleeding and a dangerous drop in blood pressure. We nearly lost her. Thankfully, Mum had emergency surgery to correct this and spent time Intensive Care recovering.

Mum’s cancer is sadly a rare type. It is called Duodenal Adenocarcinoma with Metastasis and has already spread to the liver and her lungs. There are currently limited treatment options here in the UK that offer any realistic hope of treating the cancer except from the conventional chemotherapy. However, the oncologist has said that this route would unlikely help and mainly result in mum being ill and have a very poor quality of life.

We, as a family, have diligently been researching other possible treatment routes that have had success with these types of aggressive cancers. Dendritic Cell Therapy is a type of Immunotherapy would be her best chance to live a longer life and watch her grandchildren grow. The oldest is 8 and youngest only 10months.

It is very costly at £20,000 to £30,000. We are putting together what we have as we have limited time. I am asking anyone that has taken time out of their day to read this, to please donate whatever you can, and to share my mum Antoinette’s story. Mum truly is a deserving woman. She has given so much of herself to others and I’m now asking to help her in her greatest battle.

Thank you all for reading x