Dear friends, family, and compassionate strangers,

My name is Jasmin, and I never imagined I would be writing these words.

At the beginning of October 2024, I found myself in A&E with acute urinary retention. After nearly two months of excruciating pain, several hospital visits and tests, I finally had a colonoscopy which revealed a large mass (the size of a tennis ball!).

The diagnosis was colorectal cancer, stage T3b/T4 N1 - I was told it was pushing stage 4.

The tumour was so large that I needed immediate ileostomy surgery on January 7th, this year. Coming to terms with having a stoma bag was a massive shock to the system and one of the hardest things I've ever faced.

Five gruelling cycles of chemotherapy followed (I couldn't complete the sixth due to the severe side effects that left me extremely ill). After the chemo, an MRI showed that the tumour had actually grown significantly but that the margins were no longer threatened. We were reassured that a long course of radiotherapy combined with chemo tablets would shrink it, making surgery possible to remove all the cancer and to later reverse my ileostomy.

I completed five weeks of radiotherapy - the side effects were truly horrendous. Multiple infections, pain beyond anything I'd ever experienced, but I held onto hope that this would be the path to beating this.

The recent scan reports, however, have shocked us considerably. While the tumour has shrunk, the margins are now threatened with possible involvement of the peritoneum and invasion of the uterus. I have been referred to Guy’s hospital and the surgery now being offered is a pelvic exenteration – a bowel resection, complete removal of the rectum, hysterectomy, and removal of surrounding lymph nodes.

This means:

• A reversal of my ileostomy will never be possible

• I'll need an end colostomy and will have an ostomy bag for life

• It's major surgery with an extremely long recovery period

We're meeting with Mr. Mark George at Guy's & St. Thomas on August 20th to discuss, but by all accounts, this is going to be a very large, life altering surgery.

Why we are reaching out for help.

For over eight months, I haven't been able to work on my jewellery business (I am a silversmith), and the recovery ahead means many more months before I can return. Throughout all the treatments, we have also received a lot of conflicting information and because of severe staff shortages in the NHS, we have been kept in the dark many times. I only discovered my recent imaging results and that I had been referred to Guy’s, by accidentally coming across a letter from my oncologist on the NHS app!

We are now appealing for help so we can:

Seek Second AND Third Opinions – We are hoping to consult specialists at UCL and The Cleveland Clinic to explore all possible surgical options before committing to such life-changing surgery.

Family Time - Allowing Charlie to take a much-needed break from work so we can spend precious time together as a family before surgery.

Access Complementary Care – We want to work with a functional medicine doctor (Aryan Tavakkoli) who supports patients through cancer treatments and surgeries. Her approach helps improve clinical outcomes, aids recovery, and reduces recurrence likelihood.

Mental Health Support - Professional therapy to help me process this journey, get me through these next few months and help me adapt to how my life will look at the other side of this.

Explore All Treatment Options - This may include privately available treatments like immunotherapy that could offer better outcomes.

Throughout this nightmare, we've been overwhelmed by the love and support from our community. Friends and family have helped with childcare, driven me to countless appointments, sent cards, flowers, and so many beautiful messages of hope and encouragement. We've tried so hard to keep life normal for our beautiful 10-year-old daughter Lena, and she has shown incredible bravery watching me fight this battle.

My incredible partner Charlie has been my rock, supporting us financially while running his business, caring for me, doing school runs for Lena, cooking nutritious meals, and somehow managing to lift my spirits during my darkest moments. Charlie truly is one of a kind - a hero who has held our family together when everything felt like it was falling apart.

Here’s hoping…

This is hopefully going to be the final stage of my cancer journey. But it is going to be the most challenging. We're determined to explore every option, get the best possible care, and give me the greatest chance of survival and recovery. We want to ensure we've examined all possibilities before undergoing surgery that will permanently change my life.

We're hoping to raise £20,000 to cover these essential costs and give our family the breathing space we desperately need during this critical time.

Every donation, no matter the size, will help us to keep going. Your generosity will not only ease our financial burden but will help us feel that we are not battling this thing alone.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for reading our story and for any support you can offer.

With endless gratitude and hope,

Jasmin, Charlie, and Lena

xx

Any funds remaining after medical expenses will be donated to a charity. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions for charities and we will update everyone once we have decided.