Stand With Erika – Cancer Won’t Take Her Without a Fight

Time is running out. The cancer has now spread to her head and lungs. We are desperately asking for help to give her comfort, stability, and a chance to keep fighting — with dignity, naturally, and surrounded by love.

My name is Ashleigh. I’m a daughter, and I’m writing this with the kind of heaviness that’s hard to describe — but I’m also writing with love, with faith, and with a fierce hope that someone reading this will help us keep my mum alive.

My mum, Erika, 63 years old — and she’s so much more than a cancer patient.

She’s a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a best friend, and the absolute heart of our family. She’s the one we all turn to when life gets hard. She’s selfless, radiant, and the kind of person who still manages to smile even while in pain. She is, quite simply, the strongest woman I’ve ever known.

And she is fighting for her life.

⸻

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

In 2022, Mum started having intense stomach pain and noticed a lump. She did what any of us would do — she went to her GP. But instead of care, she was met with dismissal. Her symptoms were brushed off as menopause. She was told it was “just her age.”

But Mum knew something was wrong. She trusted her body more than the words of someone who barely looked at her. She kept pushing — and finally, after enough persistence, she got the tests she needed.

That’s when we were told the words that stop time:

“It’s bowel cancer.”

What followed was a whirlwind — and a nightmare.

Mum was rushed into emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. During the operation, they discovered affected lymph nodes. The cancer had already spread to her liver and bloodstream.

Stage 4.

There’s no way to sugar-coat those words. They take your breath. They change everything.

⸻

Treatment — And the Trauma It Left Behind

Mum was offered chemotherapy — the “only” option. She said yes. She wanted to fight. She endured round after round of chemo through a PICC line… until it caused a dangerous blood clot. Another surgery followed. The line was removed, and a portacath was inserted in her chest.

But nothing about this journey was simple.

Over time, the port began to move. The site swelled. Her pain intensified. Eventually, the port was surgically removed too — but by then, the damage had been done. Nerve damage. Partial paralysis in her legs. Hair loss. Fatigue. Chronic migraines. Emotional trauma.

She had given everything to fight this disease… and it kept taking from her.

⸻

Choosing to Live – Not Just Survive

With her body exhausted and her spirit fragile, Mum made the most courageous decision of all:

She stopped chemotherapy.

She chose quality of life. She chose to be present. She chose joy — not just survival.

We turned to natural, integrative treatments. And for a while, Mum was stable. She had more good days. She smiled more. She laughed again. She danced with her grandkids.

We got glimpses of her again. Real glimpses.

That time — however brief — was a gift we will always treasure.

⸻

But Cancer Doesn’t Rest

Earlier this year, Mum began experiencing a familiar, dreadful pain in her abdomen. It was happening again. This time, scans showed new growths and affected lymph nodes — and an ultrasound revealed multiple gallstones. The doctors said they couldn’t operate. The cancer had spread too far. Surgery would risk everything.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

⸻

When Numbness Becomes Fear

Nine weeks ago, Mum started getting severe headaches and numbness in her face.

We feared a stroke.

She was taken for a CT scan. The results came back — “no brain growth” — and her symptoms were blamed on a sinus blockage. They handed her antibiotics.

And that was it.

No follow-up.

No action.

Just dismissal. Again.

Her own GP refused to refer her. Told her:

“She has cancer — what are they going to do for her?”

Can you imagine hearing that?

Not just as a patient — but as a mother? A grandmother? A woman who still wants to live?

The system failed her.

But we will not.

We demanded a PET scan through palliative care.

We fought.

We begged.

And on 03/07, we got the results:

⸻

The Cancer Has Now Spread to Her Lungs and her bone in her head in her sinus

This was the news we never wanted to hear.

This is the moment that shook us to our core.

Mum is now in pain every day.

The headaches. The numbness. The weakness.

She’s lost so much weight. Her body is tired.

But her soul is still fighting.

⸻

What We’re Asking From You — From the Bottom of Our Hearts

We’ve found another intense natural treatment that we truly believe could help extend her life — and improve her quality of life now.

But we can’t get there alone.

Right now, we’re spending around $400 every few weeks on medications, natural therapies, and support treatments that are keeping her stable. Mum is on a pension. We’ve exhausted our resources — emotionally, physically, financially.

We are simply out of options — except one:

Asking you.

—

Please… Help Us Give Mum Time

Time to hold her grandbabies.

Time to watch her children grow.

Time to laugh again. Dance again. Be Erika again.

Even just a little more time.

If you’ve ever lost someone too soon…

If you’ve ever felt helpless watching someone suffer…

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d do if it were your mum…

Now you know. This is it.

We are still fighting for her life — and we are asking, with every piece of our hearts:

Will you fight with us?

Every dollar helps.

Every share matters.

Every message lifts us up.

Please, don’t scroll past this.

Please stand with us.

With love, hope, and deepest thanks,

Ashleigh & Family

For Erika — Our Warrior