#kickcancerkaren Karen's Incurable Melanoma

Since 2018, Karen, our much loved Scottish warrior, has been diagnosed with an incurable very aggressive stage 4 metastatic melanoma cancer. Karen has been fighting this disease with love and support from her husband Joe and daughter Isla. This has and still is a long and difficult roller coaster ride for Karen, as her close family living in Scotland are unable to travel due to COVID restrictions which has been traumatising for us all.

The warrior spirit shone through during the devastation of discovering two large tumours on her brain. On the 4th of February 2020, Karen had a 5-hour brain surgery to remove each tumour, one on the back and front of the brain. Following this, multiple courses of intense radiation treatment and numerous cycles of intravenous immunotherapy, unfortunately, failed. After constant exhausting MRI appointments every 8 weeks on her body and brain we received devastating news. In disbelief and despair, the persistent advanced melanoma challenged Karen, with the growth of more tumours now on the spine and again in the brain resulting in returning to Royal Brisbane Hospital for surgical removal of another brain tumour and further rounds of invasive radiation treatment.

Now as a LAST treatment option, Karen is taking targeted therapy medication.

These pills taken daily are luckily working to stop the spread of cancer and we are in the hope this will keep the handbrake on this silent killer of a disease. Karen has been self-funding the medications for the last 10 months to the tune of $2,150 per fortnight ($52k per annum) and is no longer able to afford the medication. As you can imagine this has added financial difficulty and increased the burden of stress on Karen and her family.

Karen needs your help! We are asking our lovely community of friends and loved ones to support Karen’s incredible fight. Anyone who is lucky enough to know Karen knows she is such an amazing, bubbly and fearless individual whose infectious personality has not waned as she continues to show such tremendous positivity even during the darkest periods.

No matter how small or great your financial contribution, Karen and her family will be forever grateful, as this will bring her much relief in supporting her fight for life by helping fund these medications.

#kickcancerkaren