Terminal Cancer- Lifesaving Treatment for Abbie

I have set up this fundraising page on behalf of my wonderful friend Abbie and her family,

her husband Dave and their two gorgeous boys Samuel age 10 and Finley who is only 7. Abbie is just 44 years old and, until her diagnosis, was fit and healthy and employed as an art teacher at our local secondary school.

Abbie’s world fell apart in September 2022 when she received a diagnosis of bowel cancer. Her oncologist was initially hopeful that chemotherapy would shrink the tumour sufficiently so that a lifesaving operation to remove the tumour would be possible. But, even before 8 cycles of chemotherapy and 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy, sadly it was found the bowel tumour had penetrated the pelvic cavity. It had attached itself to her pelvic wall, uterus and ovaries. Despite these gruelling treatments, her recent scans showed the cancer has now spread and Abbie was told that she has a secondary tumour in her pelvic area and also metastasis on her lungs. The operation was deemed now not to be in Abbie’s best interests and she was informed that she had stage 4 terminal cancer. It is just the most devastating prognosis for Abbie, and her family, particularly her two young boys.

Her cancer is very aggressive and, to add further complexity, it is a G12 KRAS mutation. The KRAS mutation is an error in a protein in normal cells and is identified as causing aggressive cancer with a limited chance of survival.

Abbie has an autoimmune disorder which further complicates her case. Myositis causes muscles to become weak, tired and painful and also means she cannot have any typical immunotherapy treatment in the UK which is proven to work effectively with cancer. (Studies suggest Jemperli has a 100% success rate with bowel cancer but she cannot have it due to myositis and KRAS.) She is equally not eligible for any clinical trials.

The current treatment available for aggressive KRAS G12 tumours on the NHS is limited to just chemotherapy and radiotherapy and in Abbie’s case, such treatment would not work. She has been offered palliative chemotherapy for as long as her body can endure it.

Following her original diagnosis, we have been researching to find alternative options but due to the KRAS mutation, none have been deemed viable. Since her terminal diagnosis, we have found another option which has an excellent evidence basis for success even for those with an autoimmune disorder and KRAS mutation. This is amazing news as has given Abbie and her family much-needed hope!

Receiving a terminal diagnosis only a few weeks ago has broken the hearts of her husband and boys as well as her parents, sister and friends so this treatment is her only chance in terms of prolonging her life or destroying the cancer tumours.

Dendritic Cell Therapy

Abbie’s best hope of life extension and long-term survival is Dendritic Cell Therapy.

Cell-based Immunotherapy can be the last hope for many cancer patients who have a terminal diagnosis. However, it can also be the first and last treatment needed for all cancer patients but it is not available on the NHS. In the UK it costs around £50,000 and following an initial consultation with a team of specialists she has been deemed as a highly suitable candidate.

A dendritic cell vaccine is a cross between a vaccine and a cell therapy. Human dendritic cells are like immune system factories and fight the cancer cells we have to stop them from developing into the life-threatening cancer as we know it. This is done using our immune system. When a ‘weakness’ occurs, and the cancer can develop, our dendritic cells can’t fight it effectively. Dendritic cell therapy changes this! Vaccines are a type of immunotherapy and cancer treatment vaccines are designed to proactively treat people who already have cancer and help their body’s immune system recognise and attack the cancer cells.

From Abbie's blood, a personalised vaccine using her specific cancer markers will be created and injected into her body resulting in anti-tumour immunity. This means her immune system will recognise and attack fight (hopefully destroy) the tumours using a process that our bodies naturally do when our immune system is working well.

The success rate is high and there are also no negative side effects to this treatment. The therapy can destroy the existing cancer and Abbie's body can attack any future cancer if this treatment is successful.

Abbie has been so brave throughout her treatments even when she has been in crippling pain. She has had such a positive determination to beat her cancer despite the terminal diagnosis.

Please support Abbie and help give hope to her boys as their world has been shattered at the thought of losing their mummy.

Should any funds be surplus after Abbie's treatment, this will be donated via GoFundMe to another person fundraising for life-saving cancer treatment.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your donation. You are making a world of difference to Abbie and her family.