Time to Tell Our Story

For the past five years, Sam (41) has been fighting a relentless and extremely rare cancer: malignant Giant Cell Tumours. It is a battle that keeps returning, each time demanding more from her body, her spirit, and our family.

So far, Sam has endured seven major surgeries:

• Five operations on her legs

• Two extensive spinal surgeries, during which vertebrae were removed and replaced with metal rods.

• Last year was especially hard when Sam lost her right leg to amputation after yet another tumour reoccurred.

Despite everything she has already endured, Sam is now facing another recurrence in her spine and an upcoming third, extremely high risk spinal surgery. Her last spinal operation lasted a whopping 19 hours! Each surgery has been brutal – and at the same time, nothing short of miraculous.

Nothing can prepare you for watching someone you love in intensive care on a ventilator, learning how to breathe again after their lungs were punctured and their aorta was nicked during surgery. Or for seeing them fight through months of recovery, relearning how to walk, only to later face losing a limb. The strength, resilience, and courage Sam has shown throughout all of this has been incredible.

On top of the surgeries, Sam has endured months of aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy – treatment so intense it left her hospitalised for long periods. She travelled into London daily for treatment while incredibly weak, all while losing her waist length hair. This was one of the toughest pills to swallow and not for vanity reasons but because she now looked sick and it became impossible to hide this from her daughter. Sam’s done her best throughout to protect Florence from the reality of how unwell she has been and the pain and upset. The physical and emotional toll has been immense.

Florence – Sam’s Reason for Fighting

Through every single moment, Sam’s reason for fighting has always been her daughter, Florence, who is now seven years old. Every ounce of strength she has left, every painful step forward, has been for more time with her little girl.

Sam was born to be a mum. Anyone who has met her knows her nurturing, maternal nature. Yet this illness has robbed her of so much precious time. Sam has spent long periods in hospital, away from home and away from Florence. Florence has had to see her mum in pain and suffering – something no child, and no parent, should ever have to endure.

An Impossible Choice

Now, facing another gruelling operation, Sam was forced to make an impossible decision:

to undergo yet another long, high risk surgery – knowing the tumours are likely to return – or to stop treatment entirely.

As a mother, Sam has chosen to continue. She refuses to give up without trying every possible option, simply for the chance of more time with Florence.

As I write this, Sam is undergoing the first part of a three part spinal surgery. She will remain in intensive care until Friday, before undergoing a second surgery to place a stent in her aorta. The third and final operation will take place on 28th April and will be a long, extremely high risk procedure to remove part of her spine, replace it with donor bone and metalwork, and hopefully relieve some of the pain she has been living with.

Why We’re Asking for Help

As a family, we have stood beside Sam every step of the way – through surgeries, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endless hospital stays. We moved Sam closer to us, moved Florence to a more local school so we can help with childcare and school runs, and spent countless nights in hospitals or nearby Airbnbs so Sam is never alone.

The last five years have been traumatic for our entire family. We have had conversations no family should ever have to have, and faced realities no one should ever have to imagine.

Asking for help does not come naturally to us. We have faced this battle privately for a long time. But this is not something anyone can fight alone it takes a community effort. Sam deserves every possible chance, every ounce of support, and something to hold onto.

What Your Support Will Help With

Our goal is to give Sam hope, comfort, independence, and precious memories with Florence.

Sam’s greatest wish is to take Florence to Euro Disney. Travelling with a disability presents huge challenges, and the costs involved are far greater than a typical family holiday – but creating these memories means everything.

We are also hoping to make Sam’s home safer and more accessible for when she comes home:

• A stairlift

• A wet room bathroom

• Continued searches for global trials that may offer hope

• Ongoing treatment and alternative therapies, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy

These changes would make an enormous difference to Sam’s daily life, dignity, and independence.

How You Can Help

We have faced this battle privately for a long time. But this is not something anyone can fight alone it takes a community effort.

We don’t yet know how long Sam will remain in hospital. She has already been there for eight weeks, and recovery – physically and mentally – is always long and gruelling. Hope is what has carried us through the darkest moments, and we refuse to lose it.

Every donation, no matter how small, genuinely makes a difference. Every share, every message, every act of kindness reminds Sam that she is not fighting alone.

If you are able to donate, please know your kindness helps provide comfort, accessibility, and most importantly, precious time and memories between a mother and her daughter. If you are unable to donate, sharing this page means just as much. Any messages of love, encouragement, and support will mean more than words can ever express. Knowing that people are thinking of Sam, rooting for her, and believing in her strength will give her so much-needed motivation as she continues on this long and difficult recovery journey.

Anyone who has known or even briefly met Sam knows exactly the kind of person she is beautiful inside and out. She is truly the life and soul of any room she walks into – someone who radiates warmth, kindness, and positivity without even trying. Sam has the biggest heart and is the first person to be there for anyone she loves, or even for strangers she’s only just met. She gives endlessly of herself, always putting others before her own needs, and expecting nothing in return.

Her sense of humour is one of her most special qualities – the kind that makes you belly laugh until your sides hurt. Her laughter, her energy, and her light have always lifted those around her. Right now, those moments feel like a distant memory, but we know they are still part of her, waiting to shine again.

Our greatest hope is to help Sam find her way back to the person she has always been – the loving, funny, vibrant soul we all adore. Recovery is not just physical; it takes strength, belief, and motivation, and every kind word, message, and show of support helps more than you can imagine.

Please know that any support, whether through donations or simply sharing words of love, means the world to Sam and to all of us who love her. Together, we can remind her just how strong she is and how many people are standing beside her every step of the way.

Battling cancer is an incredibly lonely and isolating place. Help us surround Sam and Florence with love, strength, and hope at a time when it is needed more than ever.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for standing with Sam in her fight.