Annie Brooks

28/2/2020

Hello

I thought I would use this platform to give you a little bit of information behind my challenge. Whether you have already donated or are thinking of donating, I believe you should know where your money is going (and why I am asking for it!)

As many of you already know, last September we lost our beautiful mum to cancer. 

Here is her story.

Around late April/early May mum was experiencing intense pain in her abdominal area so she admitted herself to hospital. Her doctors ordered a scan of her lungs to see if she had a pulmonary embolism (she had a hip replacement done 6 months earlier and this can happen after any major surgery). Her lungs were clear but unfortunately the doctors spotted multiple lesions on her liver. The doctors ran more tests, including a liver biopsy (which are apparently horrendous) and we were told to wait for the results. After what felt like an eternity in limbo (about 2 weeks), a pathologist delivered the news to mum over the phone the day before Mother's Day.

Mum had stage 4 liver cancer of an unknown primary. 

Cancer of an unknown primary basically means that, despite multiple blood tests, CTs, ultrasounds, MRIs, one pet scan and even genetic testing, the doctors couldn't figure out where the tumors had come from.  Not having this information meant that the doctors couldn't put together a treatment plan specific to her condition. 

So, she received chemotherapy that was non-specific. This type of treatment basically attacks any type of cell in the body in the hopes that it will reach and kill the cancer cells. Unfortunately this also means that good, noncancerous cells are attacked and killed. You can imagine the sort of side effects this has on a living being.

All things considered, things were going OK and mum was close to finishing her first round of chemo. But before she did, she got sick with a lung infection. 

This meant no more chemo. The doctors also told us that the chemo that she did have didn't work at all and the tumors had grown. 

A couple of days later they decided that the "benefits" of treatment were no longer outweighing the side effects. The cancer was taking over, her body was shutting down and chemo was just speeding up the process.

Despite all of the bad news and all of the setbacks, mum stayed hopeful. We all did. 

Looking back on it, you can see that when you're in the middle of something like that, death is just not an option. No matter how many factors are saying it's a certainty.

It's not going to happen. Not to mum. Not to us. It can't happen. It's not fair. There must be something we can do. We haven't had enough time...

Mum was the strongest person I have ever known. She was so bloody stubborn, so persistent and so persuasive that I think she might have convinced some of her doctors she was going to beat this thing. Her fight was brief but nothing short of an inspiration. She fought so hard. She did everything possible to make it out the other end but unfortunately she wasn't given that chance. 

Within 4 months of her diagnosis mum was gone. Her passing was peaceful and she was surrounded by her entire family.

I'm not sharing her story for sympathy. This is just one story out of millions. In 2018 the World Health Organisation reported that 1 in 6 deaths are caused by cancer. This should not be happening. There is a way to beat that statistic. We need more research, more education, more advanced screening technology, better treatment options, more support. You can't imagine how frustrating it was not having an answer, a reason why she was taken from us. To be told that they "don't know enough about this type of cancer and we've run out of options for testing".

We need to raise money. That's how this works. It's as simple as that. I hope you can help me.

If you have been affected by cancer in any way and need someone to talk to, I am here for you.

Thank you for reading this

Annie