Please help make my remaining time bearable

Aim

Incurable cancer has left me with a tumour outside my body which has made life impossible to enjoy.

THE START

In 2023 I had been caring for my husband six years after his stroke. That year, I was diagnosed with cancer. After a major operation I was cancer free until 2025 when a small lump in my lymph node proved to be the cancer coming back. 

GOING THROUGH TREATMENT

I went through radio and chemo and then more radiotherapy, but the lymph node wasn't removed and I now have an open wound which makes my life impossible. 

FINDING A PRIVATE DOCTOR WHO GAVE ME HOPE

 After a consultation with a private doctor, I have been offered palliative surgery on the tumour which will hopefully give me back my life for whatever time I have left.

Help Mum get the surgery she needs

In April 2023, Mum was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer. She had a hysterectomy and remained well for nearly two years.

In March 2025 the cancer returned, this time as a mass in her right groin. Throughout 2025, Mum had palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and we hoped that would buy us time. In February 2026 her oncologist told her the cancer had progressed, that no further treatment would help.

Since then, the tumour in her groin has continued to grow. It has become what doctors call a "fungating" tumour - an open, infected wound - and it is causing her serious pain, distress and confinement to her home. Mum can no longer enjoy her regular swims, she finds it very difficult to get out of the house and spend time with Dad, and the constant wound care and infections have eroded her confidence and mental health in a way that is heartbreaking to watch. The situation was devastating and we couldn't see any way out.

Over the last few weeks, a second opinion has opened a door...

In May 2026, with our oncology team's support and at the recommendation from a family friend, we sought a second opinion from a Consultant Gynaecological Oncology Surgeon based in London. The Consultant reviewed Mum's case at his multidisciplinary team meeting, and the consensus was clear: palliative surgery is the right next step.

The operation would remove the fungating tumour, with reconstruction performed at the same time. The aim is not to cure the cancer - we know that isn't possible - but to give Mum her dignity back: to control the pain, the infection and the odour, to allow her to leave the house, and to let her live the time she has left with as much peace and quality of life as possible.

The Consultant is ready to operate within weeks. Every day the tumour grows. Every week brings it closer to the major blood vessels in her groin, which would make surgery much higher risk or no longer possible at all.

We are doing everything we can to have this surgery delivered on the NHS, and we are actively working with Mum's local oncology team to explore that route. We genuinely hope that comes together. But the alternative team - and the joint plastics expertise Mum needs - currently sits in a private clinic, and if the NHS route does not come together in time, we will need to pay privately so that Mum doesn't lose this window. 

We are raising funds to help cover:

- Surgical fees

- Plastic surgery and reconstruction

- Anaesthetic fees

- Hospital and theatre charges

For the last several years Mum has been a full-time carer for our Dad, who has prostate cancer and is now in a nursing home nearby. She has carried so much for so long. We want to give her this chance.

We feel very strange asking for financial help from our friends and family, but many of you have told us you would like to help. We are so incredibly grateful for all donations of any size.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th June 2026 at 10:11am