Our beautiful Alice and her battle with cancer.

UPDATE….

Firstly, we need to thank everyone for their overwhelming kindness. Alice is completely blown away by the support from you all.

She continues to suffer side effects from the Capecitabine chemo drugs and has had a difficult couple of weeks but is hoping that Cycle 2, which starts next week will be a little easier.

She has had the initial contact with Care Oncology Clinic and is awaiting the assessment.

We are also exploring the option of Mistletoe Therapy. This is one of the most widely studied complementary therapies for cancer.

And now for the good news …. as we said in Alice’s story the emergency MRI last week had identified 3 further areas of concern on her spine and she was waiting for results from the MDT meeting. They are BENIGN!! Sadly, Alice still has incurable cancer in other parts of her spine and pelvis but hopefully the ongoing conventional treatment plus alternative therapies will help. Huge thanks again to everyone who is sharing, donating, and sending messages of support to Alice. She is beyond grateful. We will continue to keep you updated.

Alice from Shifnal, Shropshire was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2018, just a few days before Christmas. She was just 29 years old. She had a single mastectomy in January 2019, followed by 5 months of gruelling chemotherapy which is debilitating for anyone, but Alice was a single parent to Isla 6 and Phoebe 2. The side effects of this toxic drug caused her to be in bed very unwell for the weeks after each cycle, including a hospital admission. In the summer of that year Alice had 3 weeks of daily radiotherapy. She also has a Zoladex injection every 28 days to shut off her ovaries so quickly experienced the joys of an early chemical menopause. Throughout this time, Alice remained strong and determined and always had a smile for her girls …. even on the darkest of days.

In October 2019, whilst having a routine CT scan for her Diep Flap reconstruction, a few suspicious lesions were identified on her spine and pelvis. It was decided, eventually, after many scans and a biopsy that these areas were probably bone mets which had responded to the systemic treatment. It was a worrying time for everyone, especially Alice, but she remained positive and did what she has always done...She got on with it!

Alice began more chemotherapy treatment, this time an oral tablet called Palbociclib which again had lots of side effects, including extreme fatigue and bone pain. She continued to have 3 monthly scans as we knew it was possible that this medication could stop working at any time. Her primary cancer was now secondary which is incurable.

In March 2020, Alice had a mastectomy to remove her right breast and the reconstruction went ahead. It was a 9 hour operation performed by two surgeons followed by 48 hours in ICU.

In September 2022, an MRI picked up an active area on her spine which was confirmed with a PET scan. This was an indication that the Palbociclib had probably stopped working. Again, the treatment plan was changed with new medication which came with the usual host of side effects. Alice was fortunate to meet the criteria for Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) in December of that year so had 3 treatments at the QE.

However, during a follow up MRI scan to determine the effect of the SABR it was picked up that there were another couple of active areas, in a different part of her spine and pelvis. This was devastating news. Once

again, she had to find the strength to get through this uncertain time whilst her new treatment plan was discussed between four different hospitals. The most recent decision was to start another chemotherapy drug called Capecitabine -10 pills per day, plus a 4 weekly bone strengthening injection, Denosumab. We hope and pray this works.

Following the start of this 4th line of treatment, Alice, this week had to have an emergency MRI, whereby another 3 areas of her spine have been identified as areas of concern. Alice is waiting for an appointment with her oncologist after the next MDT and we will know more in due course what this means.

Alice's fear is running out of these treatment options. This is a huge concern especially if the cancer continues to spread beyond the bones into the organs.

Therefore,we, her family feel it is the right time to consider alternative treatments. Unfortunately, these will not be funded by the NHS, so we want to help Alice to have the opportunity of hopefully prolonging her life. She is a 34-year-old woman with young children, and she desperately wants as much time as possible to see them grow up. We believe she deserves this chance!

The Care Oncology Protocol is an individual therapeutic approach which seeks to target multiple cancer pathways. Cancer is complex and its management often involves major interventions. This would involve a detailed assessment and numerous tests at the clinic in London. Alice would receive personalised individual care and support and if possible be prescribed with repurposed drugs. This protocol works alongside conventional treatments, so she stays under the care of her oncology team but have this additional chance of longer survival. We are hoping to raise money to fund this and to allow for regular travel to London etc.

All Alice wants is the opportunity of time to make precious memories with her beautiful girls. She refuses to accept any kind of pity and has faced this journey with her own brand of stubborn determination, but life is tough. She would love to be able to make dreams come true for Isla and Phoebe. She has raised money for cancer charities and worked tirelessly to increase awareness and provide support to other young women affected by cancer. Alice is an inspiration to so many and is the perfect role model to her girls and we now feel it is her turn to have the

chance to have fun family times. Any donation will make a huge difference.