We need £14,700 for life-saving cancer treatment

This is a photo of me and my favourite cousin, Tunrayo.

In 2021, Tunrayo was diagnosed with breast cancer. With a history of cancer in our family (her sister died in 2015 from breast cancer), we have been fearing the worst. But on a trip to see her last month we got the most amazing news - surgery is possible and there's a chance we can beat this thing. But we need your help because the treatment is way out of reach on our own.

About Tunrayo

T is 37, married with two kids - Demilade who's 7 and Oluwatise, 5. They live in the outskirts of Lagos in Nigeria.

Here she is with her hubby, Wemimo.

Last year, after finding a lump, Tunrayo went to get it checked out. A lumpectomy and scan came back saying it was cancer - HER2 Positive.

Against a backdrop of cancer in our family, we feared the worst. My mum, Tunrayo's aunt, died of leukemia in 2006, her sister died a couple of years later from a different type of cancer, two more aunts and uncles died this year from cancer, and Tunrayo's sister Biodun died in 2015 from breast cancer. I struggled for months as the diagnosis sank in, and the fear of losing yet another of my closest relatives has been overwhelming at times.

Added that our children are the same age, and we're pretty much the same age... It's just too heartbreaking to think that we might lose her.

The cost of medical care in Nigeria is ridiculously high, millions of Naira (thousands of pounds) for chemo, when Tunrayo's monthly wages as a caterer are the equivalent £176.

Until now, we've been paying for her care out of savings and family donations, but now we need to put our pride aside and ask others if they can help us with the treatment cost left to go.

Tunrayo's battle with cancer

Shortly after diagnosis, we got the scary news that the cancer had spread to her spine. Healthcare in Nigeria is nowhere near as trustworthy or accessible as here in the UK, and it's been a real battle to get her on a good care plan.

After a lot of frantic searching and appointments, Tunrayo has been having weekly chemo at the NSIA-Luth Cancer Centre in Lagos.

As with all chemo, it's been gruelling to say the least. And through all this, T has continued working, caring for her kids and doing standard parenting/housekeeping stuff. I have no idea how she's kept going.

But after radiotherapy in June and starting chemo in July, we got the fantastic news last month that the tumour is reducing and that surgery is possible.

While nothing can be sure with cancer, it looks like there is a really good chance that if we raise the money, we can pay for this surgery and the preventative chemo after and give Tunrayo and her kids the gift of a long life.

Why we need your help

Nigeria has no state-provided health care, and Tunrayo hasn't earned enough to afford insurance.

As I said, salaries are very modest (a few hundred GBP a month), whereas the chemo bills are very high. We've done what we can as a family, but we'll need a miracle if we want to pay for the whole thing.

We've looked at medical trials and getting Tunrayo a visa to come to the UK, but all these things take time, and it's time we don't have.

As uncomfortable as it is to have to ask for help, I love my cousin and want to do all I can to try to help her and her family. It could so easily be me (or any of us) in her place, and even though going "public" with this is absolutely against my character, I have to do everything I can to help. She's the rock of her family and her kids are too young to lose her.

There was a lot of fear and depression at diagnosis, and it still comes in waves. Tunrayo is usually a very self-sufficient, happy, energetic person - she got me into and out of a lot of trouble as a child :) But she hates having to rely on people for help (she's even worse than me!).

I hope that with this fundraiser, we can show her that although life can be cruel, there are people who love her and me enough to help happily.

Things are tough for everyone right now, so if you can't afford it, please don't feel bad. Thank you for reading this far and for sharing.

Bassie and family xx