Please help me cover the costs of a Liquid Biopsy

Hi, I'm Symone,

I'm a 54 year old, army veteran who has worked for the NHS, loves the great outdoors and has had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people in my time.

As most of you know I fought and won the battle against breast cancer 20 years ago, and, despite living life to it's fullest since, keeping healthy and active, it has sadly returned.

Unfortunately, at this point, the oncologists cannot determine what kind of cancer it is but have devised a plan consisting of broad spectrum chemotherapy and hopefully immunotherapy too.

It was also discussed that a new generation of diagnostic testing called a 'liquid biopsy' was available. A blood sample for the Guardant 360 test would be taken, which reviews the whole genomic library of cancer and helps in identifying targetable mutations for future purposes. However, since it is not covered by the NHS, (and is currently only available in the US) the outlay to have this test performed will cost approximately £2000. (Which, sadly, I just do not have). Anything above and over this will help contribute to travelling costs incurred for treatment and to keep a roof over my head whilst I'm not in work.

They have warned that, in some cases, circulating cancer cells are not detected which are essential to determine the target mutation and, in other cases, targeted mutations are found but there are no medicines available either in the country or otherwise for treatment. In most cases though where targetable mutations are found and clinical trials are available, patients have to travel to other cities as Hull University Teaching hospital have very limited clinical trials.

Despite these potential setbacks, and knowing that the cancer is incurable but manageable, I feel that I owe myself the best chance in fighting against this disease again and would appreciate the opportunity to do so with the help from my lovely friends and family.

I have volunteered, helped and raised funds for so many charities that mean a lot to me in the past, especially one which I co-found back in 2005, and, although I hate to ask, I am now hoping that you will help me in my cause this time.

For more information, please see the link below:

Guardant 360 Liquid