#SaveKarenDempseyMarsh

The family and friends of Karen are urgently appealing for your support to help raise funds for lifesaving medical treatment. A 54 year old native of Newbridge, Karen is a mother to three children and grandmother to an adorable granddaughter. She is a carer for her youngest daughter who has long term health problems and who relies on her.

After being diagnosed with clear cell sarcoma in May 2020 Karen had extensive surgery and has since been treated with several different chemotherapy’s, these have caused many severe side effects and allergic reactions and alongside that the cancer has also spread. In December 2021 Karen was also diagnosed with having the BRCA 1 gene, which can cause other aggressive cancers.

All Karen’s options for treatment in Ireland have run out, however we have identified an immunotherapy which we hope will save her life. It is vital that we raise the money for this treatment as soon as possible. Thank you for taking the time to read our page and for any donations you can give.

Sincerely yours,

The Help Karen committee. (Karen's Crew)

PLEASE HELP KAREN

The family and friend of Karen Marsh (nee Dempsey) have come together to organise a fundraising campaign to raise funds for urgent lifesaving medical treatment for Karen of health problems and has been unable to work for a number of years, she is the carer for her youngest daughter, who has long term health problems. She is a native of Newbridge, Co. Kildare and has resided there almost all of her 54 yrs.

On 1st May 2020, Karen was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer, a massive tumour was attached to both ovaries. On 13th May 2020 Karen underwent extensive surgery including a total hysterectomy.

On 18/06/2020 Karen started on chemotherapy. Karen was very unfortunate as she was found to be allergic to three chemotherapies (Paclitaxel, Docetaxel and caelyx ), which were essential for her optimum treatment. She was eventually started on a course of carboplatin chemotherapy. She spent three weeks in hospital in July/August being treated for abscesses and sepsis – a side effect of the chemotherapy. She has suffered many debilitating side effects from the chemotherapy.

The chemotherapy continued throughout 2020 and in February 2021 an MRI scan revealed that the cancer had spread to her liver (2 tumours were detected). Karen’s treatment was changed and she was started on a course of chemotherapy involving two treatments (Gemcitabine and Bevacizumab also referred to as avastin) Those chemotherapies were administered two weeks out of every three. This is a very severe dose of chemotherapy and had a devastating effect on Karen’s body. After each treatment she would be in bed for four days suffering severe pain, nausea and fatigue. During the rest of the time, she still had serious pain in her bones as this is a side effect of this particular chemotherapy. Her quality of life was greatly affected.

A further MRI scan in November 2021 showed that the tumours in her liver had reduced but not to the extent that her medical team had expected. Unfortunately, this scan detected a new tumour in Karen’s spleen. With this discovery it was clear that the Gemcitabine and Bevacizumab combination of chemotherapy was ineffective, but she remained on that chemotherapy until Christmas 2021. An operation was out of the question as she would only have a 5% chance of surviving surgery.

In December 2021, as a result of cancer genetic testing, Karen tested positive for the BRCA 1 gene. This is the gene that causes ovarian and breast cancer. Karen expects to be administered block inhibitors in the near future to help control the BRCA 1 mutation

On 5/01/2022 Karen was again admitted to hospital suffering from severe pain and being unable to eat, for a number of weeks. She had a Cat Scan on 6/01/2022. This scan revealed that the cancer had spread to her stomach and also detected new activity in her liver. On 12/01/2022 Karen was restarted on a course of carboplatin chemotherapy, even though that chemotherapy proved to be ineffective in 2020. She was also placed on palliative care.

During Karen’s reasonably good periods she continued doing the housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping etc and taking care of her daughter. In spite of all the disappointments, severe pain, nausea and fatigue, she has suffered over the past 20 months, and which she bore with grace and dignity, she refuses to give up and is determined to do everything possible to extend her life and to improve her quality of life. As a result of Karen’s experiences, it appears that none of the conventional cancer treatments are suitable for Karen. An alternative source of treatment needed to be found.

As a result of research, an opportunity has arisen for Karen to take part in immune therapy treatment, or to be more precise Dendritic cell therapy (DCT). DCT is minimally-invasive, uses no chemicals or surgery, has no side-effects, is pain free and causes no distress to the patient. The treatment involves taking a blood sample which is sent to a laboratory in Germany. Monocites are extracted from the blood cells; Those Monocites are engineered, cultivated and grown into Dendritic cells and the dendritic cells are then vaccinated back into the patient’s body and they teach the immune system to identify cancerous cells, to attack them and destroy them.

The above treatment was developed by a company named Immucura, whose headquarters are near Marbella in Spain. Their developments are based mainly on the findings of Ralph Steinman who in 2011 won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering the role of Dendritic cells in adaptive immunity. Many amazing results have been achieved through the use of DCT. Up to an 80% success rate has been achieved.

Our aim in running this campaign is to raise sufficient funds to enable Karen receive DCT. Our goal is to raise €50,000 The cost of the DCT is €43-000, The remainder of the funds will be used to cover all ancillary costs, such as blood analysis, nutritional advice supplementation and other complimentary treatments, and the costs involved in Karen travelling to Spain if it is necessary for her to do so.

We implore everyone who is touched by Karen’s plight to donate as much or as little as you can afford, every donation will help. We also request that everyone who reads this “gofundme” page to forward it to all their family, friends and acquaintances, so that as many people as possible will have an opportunity to donate to our cause.

Thank you for taking the time to read our page and thank you in advance for any assistance you can give and for helping to save Karen.

Sincerely yours,

The Help Karen committee. (Karen’s crew)