Suki's Medical Treatment and Recovery Fund

Aim

Raising funds for specialist treatment, rehabilitation and recovery following a rare and severe late-effects, post cancer radiation injury.

Late Effects Radiation Injury - 10 Years After Cancer Treatment

Aim

We’re raising funds to support Suki to access specialist treatment, rehabilitation and recovery following a challenging late-effects radiation injury complication from triple negative breast cancer treatment 10 years ago.

**Update – June 2026**

This fundraiser was originally created in March by Suki's close friends and initially shared privately amongst friends. The aim was simply to raise enough money for her to begin treatment.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of those who contributed, more than £7,000 was raised, allowing Suki to access treatment immediately.

Since this page was first created, we have learned much more about her condition and have updated the information below to reflect her current diagnosis, treatment plan and ongoing recovery needs.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has already supported the fundraiser and helped her begin treatment. Suki was blown away by the kindness and generosity and, after much persuasion, has agreed for the fundraiser to be made public so it can reach her wider community.

Backstory

Many of you know Suki as someone who overcame aggressive triple-negative breast cancer ten years ago and later used her recovery story to support and educate others. After spending years rebuilding her health, she retrained in breathwork, somatic therapy, coaching and wellness practices, leaving the corporate world behind to support people through their own challenges and transformations. 

However, since December 2024, she has been navigating a serious health challenge of her own.

What has happened

In December 2024, the breast where Suki had cancer treatment ten years ago suddenly became inflamed, painful, and swollen. The symptoms closely resembled inflammatory breast cancer, resulting in a long and stressful period of scans, consultations, and concern for various cancer recurrences.

Recently it become clear that she is dealing with:

• Radiation-Induced Morphea (RIM)

• Breast lymphoedema

 RIM is a rare, complex late complication of radiation treatment. It is an autoimmune and connective tissue condition that can appear many years after treatment. RIM begins with an inflammatory phase- affected tissue becomes red, swollen and irritated. If diagnosed early, intervention may help slow progression and limit long-term damage. Unfortunately, it was not identified soon enough and has progressed into a severe advanced sclerotic phase. The tissue has become fibrotic and rock hard, contracted and extremely difficult to reverse, creating many of the challenges she is now facing.

The fibrosis is no longer affecting only the breast tissue. It is impacting the surrounding chest wall, shoulder, rib cage, diaphragm, posture and overall mobility. This has caused secondary lymphoedema, creating additional complications.

At one stage a mastectomy was recommended, but surgeons have since confirmed that a mastectomy is highly risky and completely out of the question; the tissue is too fragile, with a high probability of complications, leaving her with a big surgical wound that would likely not heal.

This leaves Suki in a difficult position. The breast is now very deformed, and surgery once offered to solve the problem is now considered too dangerous to perform.

The reality of living with this condition

A hard part of this journey is that much of it is invisible. Suki looks well. She continues to show up and does her best to maintain some normality. But the reality behind closed doors is very different.

She lives with chronic inflammation, daily discomfort, restricted movement, fatigue and the emotional impact of navigating another serious health challenge. The breast has shrunk dramatically and now requires the use of a prosthesis to feel comfortable in public, whilst also needing to be careful of the fragile tissue.

The Reality of Navigating Late Effects

Most difficult of all is the uncertainty and lack of medical support, knowledge, resources, and funding for late effects such as RIM. Recovery is an out-of-pocket full-time job. Between daily Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, specialist Manual Lymphatic Drainage, rehabilitation appointments, travel, research and coordinating specialist care, there is very little capacity or time left for work to sustain income and subsequently pay for treatment.

This creates a difficult reality: healing requires time and rest, but also energy and financial resources, yet the condition itself has dramatically reduced her ability to generate income. At present, there is no clear timeline for when she will realistically be able to fully return to work in a sustainable way and she does not currently have a partner or a family support network to lean on. It's a lot for one person to navigate.

How RIM behaves

The body's repair mechanism is stuck in overdrive. In an attempt to heal severely damaged radiated tissue, an autoimmune response is continuously driving inflammation and excessive collagen production in her right breast. The switch that would normally tell this repair process to stop is stuck in the "on" position, causing the breast to become dramatically contracted over the past year.

Like a winch being tightened, the fibrotic tissue keeps pulling inwards, causing the breast to aggressively shrink and become rock hard, painful, and restricted. Over the past 18 months it has shrunk to around a third of its original size and is now a small B cup sitting unusually high on the chest wall and no looks deformed. Her healthy left breast remains a G cup, creating a huge physical imbalance that affects posture, movement, and comfort. A breast reduction on the healthy side is a necessity in the near future, but the immediate priority is finding a solution to turn off the switch that has gone rogue and prevent further progression of the disease.

What happens if the condition continues to progress? 

One of the reasons we are fundraising now is because this condition is not static.

Severe, untreated fibrotic conditions can continue to worsen. In some cases, the shrinkage can continue until the breast becomes flattened, creating a chest-wall armour effect. Since she has not been able to access RIM experts via the NHS, currently there is uncertainty on how this will play out in her case. This is one of the reasons Suki is working so hard to access treatment now, to halt progression.

The knock-on effects are being felt throughout her body. . As the tissue has tightened and contracted, it affects the surrounding chest wall, pulling the shoulder forward and creating restriction through the upper body, causing shoulder and back pain, reduced mobility and a constant feeling of rigidity across the chest.

The changes in posture and movement are placing additional strain on her spine and overall biomechanics, exacerbating existing scoliosis and compounding other challenges including a full-thickness hip labral tear and pelvic tilt. What began as a breast injury has gradually become a wider musculoskeletal issue affecting comfort, mobility, strength and day-to-day quality of life.

Ten years after cancer-treatment-induced menopause, she is unable to take HRT, adding another layer of complexity to recovery, muscle maintenance, energy levels and overall resilience.

The lymphoedema carries its own challenges. Trapped lymphatic fluid increases tissue fragility and vulnerability to infection. People living with lymphoedema are at a higher risk of developing cellulitis, which can become serious and lead to complications such as sepsis.

The tissue itself has also become extremely fragile. A minor injury, friction or skin breakdown can be very problematic. Because radiation-damaged tissue has a reduced blood supply and impaired healing capacity, wounds take longer to recover and are predisposed to complications. This can lead to tissue breakdown, ulceration, chronic wounds and, in the worst circumstances, tissue necrosis.

The Goal

The goal of treatment is to not only manage and improve symptoms. It is to calm the inflammatory process, reduce further fibrosis and shrinkage, preserve healthy tissue, regain proper mobility and give Suki the best possible chance of protecting her long-term health, independence, quality of life and return to the work she loves - being in service to others.

The challenge

Accessing specialist expertise in radiation late effects and treatment pathways for RIM has proved impossible through the NHS and there is no funding available for essential lymphoedema treatment. She has no insurance, as cancer-related complications are excluded from cover. As a result, Suki has spent relentless hours researching medical literature, exploring treatment options and coordinating her own care.

The last 18 months have been incredibly difficult. The uncertainty, ongoing appointments, chronic inflammation, pain, physical limitations and lack of clear treatment pathways have taken a significant toll, leading to burnout. It is a heavy load for one person to carry alone, which is why her friends have rallied around to support her.

Suki unexpectedly lost her entire year's income due to several retreats and client commitments having to be cancelled and the financial impact remains. Pursuing recovery has become a full-time commitment.

The impact has hit hard financially as well as physically. Several retreats and client commitments had to be cancelled due to needing to slow don and focus on her health, whilst investigations and treatment options were being explored, resulting in the loss of most of her expected income for the year. Recovery has become a full-time job.

Regenerative Treatments for Suki’s Recovery & Estimated Costs

Suki is incredibly determined to maximise her recovery and lead a vibrant life. The treatment plan below is expected to take place over approximately 18 months to 2 years in phases. This pacing is intentional. Treatment is physically and metabolically demanding.

Specialist Medical and Clinical Support

Access is needed to experienced specialists who understand complex radiation injuries, connective tissue disorders and late effects of cancer treatment. This includes specialist consultations, functional medicine support, advanced blood panels, IV's, monitoring, and diagnostics. Estimated cost: approximately £5,000–£7,000

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

HBOT is an evidence-based, FDA-approved adjunctive treatment for radiation-induced tissue injury. By breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurised chamber, oxygen delivery to damaged tissue is significantly increased. This substantially improves circulation, stimulates healing, supports tissue repair, and reduces inflammation. This is a very important part of her recovery and is the very best immediately available option to help mitigate radiation injury. Estimated cost: approximately £6,500–£8,000

Specialist Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) and Fascia Work

The lymphatic system plays a vital role in fluid balance, waste removal and immune function. Because lymphatic drainage pathways have become compromised, frequent specialist MLD is required to help reduce swelling, support circulation, improve tissue health and reduce infection risk. Gentle breast facia treatment is also required to help maintain tissue mobility and reduce restriction and help preserve function. Estimated cost: approximately £4,000–£6,000

Specialist Oncology Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy

To maintain mobility through the chest wall, shoulder, ribs and spine, reduce further restriction and help prevent musculoskeletal complications worsening. Estimated cost: approximately £7,000–£9,000

Recommended Regenerative Therapies and Supportive Treatments

Because RIM is complex, flexibility is needed to pursue emerging treatment options and expert recommendations throughout the recovery process. Estimated cost: approximately £3,500–£5,000

Some specialist care may require travel outside the local area or overseas and so these figures are approximate.

Steps Already Taken

The initial £7,000 raised has already funded 40 Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions, together with regular MLD and fascia treatment. These therapies have already produced encouraging improvements, reducing pain, redness and inflammation and providing the first real signs that the condition may be responsive to regenerative treatment. However, for a radiation injury of this severity, recovery is measured over months. A longer course of HBOT, in the region of 100 sessions is required to give the tissue the best possible chance of remodelling and preventing further progression and continual MLD is essential.

Our fundraising target has been raised to £25,000.

The bigger picture

To be completely transparent, the cost of achieving the best possible outcome will exceed £40,000.

This includes ongoing treatment, surgeries, rehabilitation, and future interventions as the situation evolves. But we recognise that £40,000 is a huge amount of money and we do not want people to feel overwhelmed by that figure. Our immediate goal is £25,000 because that allows us to continue the current treatment plan and focus on preventing worsening health. Anything raised beyond that amount will allow more treatment, more support and a greater opportunity for recovery and Suki to reclaim her health. She did it before and will absolutely do it again....but this time with some extra help from her friends :-)

How you can help

As her friends, we stepped in because we knew Suki is fiercely independent and would not feel comfortable asking for help. She has spent years supporting others through difficult periods of their lives and health journeys. Right now, she needs support herself.

If you feel able to contribute, whether that is £20, £50, £100 or more, it will make a meaningful difference. If you are unable to donate, simply sharing this page with your own network helps enormously. Suki has built a wide community over the years through her professional work, retreats, workshops, friendships and life abroad, and you never know who in your network may know her, have been touched by her work, or feel moved to help.

Most importantly, every contribution helps give Suki the best possible opportunity to stabilise this condition, protect her future health, regain her quality of life and return to doing the work she loves.

Thank you for being part of her community and recovery journey. ❤️

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th June 2026 at 11:59pm