Mum-of-three needs to raise £21k for potential lifeline treatment
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A ROSS-shire mother-of-three devastated after being told by doctors her cancer is incurable has failed to raise enough money for cutting edge treatment overseas – and fears she will die before she reaches the target.
Lucy Wilson launched a fundraising campaign to pay for a treatment not available on the NHS.
However, the 38-year-old is still a whopping £21,000 short of the initial funding needed and knows she only has months left to live.
She said: "I wish I had a house to put on the market or a car to sell but I live with my mum and the car’s on finance. I’m so grateful to everyone for every penny they have donated, it’s been amazing. I can’t believe it, some people have even given me their bill money. Others are taking a bit off their pay every month.
"But I can’t keep going back to the same people – and there’s nothing else I can think of. I’m still feeling positive but I’m starting to feel a bit run down."
Ms Wilson, who is from Evanton, has endometrial cancer. She went back and forth to the doctors with symptoms for four months before being diagnosed in September.
The mobile hairdresser, who is mum to Chloe (18), Caitlin (15) and Savannah (11) – who was born with a rare disability – has been offered intensive radiotherapy on the NHS.
She has turned it down in the hope that she can go to Germany for a course of treatment she believes could offer a lifeline.
She fears the strong radiotherapy could have severe side-effects for little or no benefit.
And she has refused "end-of-life" care.
She wants to fly to the Hallwang Private Oncology clinic in Germany for a treatment called immunotherapy.
If successful, she will be following in the footsteps of Gemma Nuttall, a young mother from England who is cancer-free after undergoing the same treatment at the centre.
Ms Nuttall was fortunate in that Kate Winslet boosted her fundraising campaign to reach £300,000.
The star came across Ms Nuttall’s desperate plight while searching online for cancer treatments for her own mother who was also ill.
Ms Wilson is aware the treatment does not work for everyone.
And only last month, another mother-of-three from Leicester lost her battle after spending her life savings at the clinic.
But she is desperate to give it a chance and is seeking charitable status for her fundraising campaign called Lucy’s Fight in the hope that major local companies can be persuaded to donate.
She said: "I’m in contact with the German clinic and I’m sending my medical records over to them so they can look at them and see how they can treat me. I’m also trying to get accepted onto a trial for the same treatment in London and I’m now on the list.
"I hate asking people for money but I’m worried about my daughters – I can’t leave them. I can’t give up without a fight."
A fundraising page set up by her daughters can be found at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chloe-calder
