Kim and Bobby

Hey everyone, my name is Gemma and my best friend is Kim.

I’ve started this gofundme in an effort to help support Kim and her son Bobby, aged 14, as they go through a really difficult time. Kim has been left unable to work following a shattering diagnosis of Stage 4, incurable breast cancer aged 36 in September 2023 and this has left things extremely tight financially with the sudden loss of income.

Kim is a beautiful, loving mother to her son Bobby and a kind soul who is the life and soul of any party or gathering! She has a sharp sense of humor and is anything but a shrinking violet when it comes to giving her opinion! She is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She is also the first person to offer help or support where it’s needed and many in Dundee and further afield have benefitted from her support.

This is not Kim’s first battle with cancer - she was initially diagnosed with cancer aged 32. Her primary cancer was an aggressive HER2+ breast cancer, located in her left breast and lymph nodes. Kim underwent a grueling regime of Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy, and finally had a mastectomy on her left breast and some of her lymph nodes removed.

Following this treatment Kim was declared cancer free and, after a period of recovery, built a successful business for herself as a nail technician, and a happy home life for her and her son Bobby. With her business starting to really take off, Kim began to notice that she was struggling with fatigue, and developed what the doctors diagnosed as a “vocal tic” likely due to anxiety.

Kim was placed on a waiting list for mental health services, which was well in excess of 6 months despite her strong insistence that this was a physical and not a mental health issue and the need for a scan in light of her previous cancer diagnosis.

Eventually, after another 2 months of constant phone calls asking for action and a visit from mama bear who had flown over from Texas where she lives to complain to the doctors, Kim was referred for a scan at Ninewells Hospital.

A week or so later, in September 2023 aged just 36, Kim was asked to attend the hospital for a meeting with a consultant oncologist, who delivered the news that Kim’s cancer had returned. The cancer was no longer primary breast cancer but had metastasised and Kim now had secondary breast cancer, with disease found in her throat (the cause of the “vocal tic”), her rib bones, chest cavity, adrenal gland and her ovaries. This diagnosis is a stage 4 diagnosis, meaning that Kim’s cancer is now incurable.

Kim will now have cancer for the rest of her life, and depending on how her body responds to treatments no accurate prognosis can ever be given. When first diagnosed Kim was told her life could be measured in weeks or years.

Kim has since underwent another gruelling regime of radiotherapy on her throat to shrink the mass there as it was in danger of cutting off the blood supply to her brain by compressing the main artery. She then embarked upon another brutal round of chemotherapy with the aim of shrinking all of the other masses as small as possible. If all this wasn't enough for her, in August 2024 kim was told the cancer had spread to her brain, a 3cm lesion was removed in October 2024.

Despite all of this my best friend held the charity event of the year donating to 'make seconds count' a charity very close to her heart. £1500 was raised to help others who are going through the same journey. She really is something else

So now after 12 weeks and 12 rounds of chemo, Kim has now started a maintenance treatment comprising an injection every 3 weeks to control the cancer. Kim also gets scans every 3 months to check on the growth - which has led to her taking the approach of living her life in 3 month segments “living life 3 months at a time” as she proudly declares!

Eventually the cancer will resist this maintenance and Kim will need to try another chemo, then another maintenance treatment and so the cycle continues. Kim will effectively be fighting this cancer for the rest of her life, and despite the extent of the disease, the constant pain and the medication she is on, getting back to work and gaining her independence back is something that Kim is focused on.

Dundee is an amazing city, and having seen so many get so much support for so many worthy causes, including a lot of people Kim now knows through her cancer journey, she was still adamant she did not want to ask for any help. However having seen the immense physical, mental and financial strain this has put on her and Bobby we have decided to set this up on her behalf.

Any monies raised will be used to ensure Kim and Bobby can be relieved of the financial pressures cancer brings while Kim tries to get back on her feet. As a result of being diagnosed so young Kim had never arranged any life insurance or critical illness cover and of course any such cover is now impossible.

Having burned through her savings since diagnosis, should there be any remaining funds they will be used to pay for a funeral plan to remove that financial burden from her family and to try and provide Kim and Bobby with as many amazing experiences together in the time they have left while Kim is still able.

Kim and Bobby mean the absolute world to so many people so ensuring their journey is as easy as possible is so important.

Thanks for taking the time to read our story, I know that times are really hard at the moment so please, if you wish to donate

only give what you can - any donation, big or small would be a massive support. If you aren’t in a position to donate even sharing and spreading the word would be a huge help!