Fund life prolonging cancer treatment for Nicola - a year on

Hi my name is Dave. I have lived in Great Bedwyn for 24 years. You might have seen me around in my postie uniform! I live with my wonderful wife Nicola. We have an amazing son William who turned 12 last month and an incredible older daughter Ashleigh. She is autistic and blind and she lights up our world whenever she visits us.

In May 2021 our small family was turned upside down when Nicola was diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer. There are multiple tumours in her liver - and now her lungs, making it inoperable. It was shattering news for us all.

Since then, Nicola has bravely undergone 6 months of debilitating chemo followed by an operation to remove cancer growth in the bowel, resulting in a stoma. There followed more failed rounds of intensive chemo and, less than a year after her diagnosis, Nicola was presented with the final option of maintenance chemo to try to stabilise the cancer and prolong her life. When this too failed we began to prepare for the worst coming sooner than we hoped and prayed for.

Then, in July 2022 - a glimmer of hope - Avastin a new drug became available but not yet funded by the NHS. At £900 per round it seemed out of our reach. Incredibly, close friends and family funded ten rounds of the drug. Nicola began to take the Avastin alongside the maintenance chemo. Since then there has at last been some shrinkage in the tumours and Nicola has remained stable for the past precious 10 months.

We do not take any minute of life for granted. Every hour, day, week, month is so precious for Nicola, for William and Ashleigh and for me. Avastin has so far done what no other treatment has been able to do - to stabilise the cancer and allow Nicola to keep living.

Nicola has touched so many lives through her faith, her work in the community and by being a kind, caring and compassionate friend to so many. Every round of Avastin will prolong her life and buy us time together.

We would be so very grateful for anything you felt able to contribute to further rounds of this treatment.

With love and gratitude x