Help me beat cancer
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I am a mom to two beautiful children and a primary school teacher. I have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and am trying to do everything I can to give myself the chance to watch my children grow up. Here is my story...
2020 started out as a great year. Jon got a promotion at work and I got the perfect job, teaching part-time at a local primary school. We also completed the purchase of our first home, where we had been looking forward to settling and raising our two beautiful daughters (5 and 2 years old).
Just days after moving in, we received terrible news that I had colorectal cancer. I had been experiencing lower back pain since April and more recently had developed some GI symptoms. At first the doctors didn’t take my concerns seriously, but finally my GP ordered a colonoscopy, which revealed a large tumour. Further scans revealed that the cancer had spread. In the case of stage 4 cancer, the doctors are not hopeful – as the 5-year survival rate is less than 10% in the UK. The best that the doctors can offer in this case is palliative chemotherapy. In other words, it’s to make me more comfortable until I die.
I have cried a lot, but I have not given up hope. I knew I had to find a way to give me a better chance of survival so that I can watch my two beautiful girls grow up. Those of you who know me, will probably know that I am pretty stubborn and don’t really like being told that I can’t do something. I desperately started reading books, research papers and stories of people who have survived advanced stage cancer. This led me to what’s called the “metabolic approach” to cancer and a growing body of research that points to complementary treatments (used alongside chemotherapy) that attack cancer cells in a way that chemotherapy can’t. These treatments can dramatically increase survival times and sometimes even lead to remission of advanced stage cancer.
I quickly enlisted the help of integrative oncologists, a Chinese traditional medicine doctor/acupuncturist, a dietician, a psychologist as well as a hypnotherapist. Although my next scans aren’t until the end of November, there are signs that these treatments are working. My blood tests showed that my inflammation markers had dropped dramatically, after only a couple of weeks of my new regimen, before even starting chemotherapy. My white blood cell count has remained higher than expected and the back pain from the tumours pressing on nerves has dramatically reduced. If things continue to go well, it is much more likely that I will be able to receive potentially curative surgery.
The problem is that these treatments are expensive and not covered by the NHS. Despite living and working legally in the UK on a spousal visa, I am not allowed to claim any type of government benefits. If I am unable to continue working, I will have no safety net to help support my family’s income. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we are trying to raise money to help pay our medical bills for the next year, so that I can afford to give myself the best possible chance of survival.
2020 started out as a great year. Jon got a promotion at work and I got the perfect job, teaching part-time at a local primary school. We also completed the purchase of our first home, where we had been looking forward to settling and raising our two beautiful daughters (5 and 2 years old).
Just days after moving in, we received terrible news that I had colorectal cancer. I had been experiencing lower back pain since April and more recently had developed some GI symptoms. At first the doctors didn’t take my concerns seriously, but finally my GP ordered a colonoscopy, which revealed a large tumour. Further scans revealed that the cancer had spread. In the case of stage 4 cancer, the doctors are not hopeful – as the 5-year survival rate is less than 10% in the UK. The best that the doctors can offer in this case is palliative chemotherapy. In other words, it’s to make me more comfortable until I die.
I have cried a lot, but I have not given up hope. I knew I had to find a way to give me a better chance of survival so that I can watch my two beautiful girls grow up. Those of you who know me, will probably know that I am pretty stubborn and don’t really like being told that I can’t do something. I desperately started reading books, research papers and stories of people who have survived advanced stage cancer. This led me to what’s called the “metabolic approach” to cancer and a growing body of research that points to complementary treatments (used alongside chemotherapy) that attack cancer cells in a way that chemotherapy can’t. These treatments can dramatically increase survival times and sometimes even lead to remission of advanced stage cancer.
I quickly enlisted the help of integrative oncologists, a Chinese traditional medicine doctor/acupuncturist, a dietician, a psychologist as well as a hypnotherapist. Although my next scans aren’t until the end of November, there are signs that these treatments are working. My blood tests showed that my inflammation markers had dropped dramatically, after only a couple of weeks of my new regimen, before even starting chemotherapy. My white blood cell count has remained higher than expected and the back pain from the tumours pressing on nerves has dramatically reduced. If things continue to go well, it is much more likely that I will be able to receive potentially curative surgery.
The problem is that these treatments are expensive and not covered by the NHS. Despite living and working legally in the UK on a spousal visa, I am not allowed to claim any type of government benefits. If I am unable to continue working, I will have no safety net to help support my family’s income. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we are trying to raise money to help pay our medical bills for the next year, so that I can afford to give myself the best possible chance of survival.
Organizer
Jennifer Eldridge
Organizer
