'I want to live': Lavendon woman diagnosed with rare condition thought to affect fewer than 150 people worldwide
A fundraising page has been set up to help a Lavendon woman who has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer.
Gillian Lawless, 58, who lives in the village near Milton Keynes has been diagnosed with sinonasal teratocarcinosarcoma, a condition thought to affect less than 150 people around the world.
The family were told last month that the cancer had already reached stage four, meaning the only option was palliative radiotherapy – after being turned away from hospitals.
For months, Gillian’s family say she was sent away from hospitals with comments such as “go to your GP for sinus issues’ and “you’ve come to A&E with a nosebleed”.
But after an uncontrollable nosebleed, she was rushed to Milton Keynes Hospital, and following CT and MRI scans, was diagnosed with the rare condition – with doctors informing the family there was no cure because the cancer was so advanced.
Gillian had five treatments of palliative radiotherapy, which concluded on Friday October 10.
Her daughter Danielle Warnecke explained: “Mum realised something wasn’t right in March because she couldn’t breathe out of her nostrils, and could not taste or smell.
“Her eyesight started going funny and then it started bulging, and she lost sight in one eye completely.”
Gillian is the primary carer for her two grandchildren, aged 15 and four, who both have complex needs.
Her family has launched a GoFundMe page with a target of £22,000, and say money raised will help them explore clinical trials, seek second opinions and access specialist treatments across the UK and potentially abroad.
The fundraising page includes words from Gillian who says: “I don’t want to die. I want to live. I want to be here for my children, my grandchildren, and the family that needs me.
“I want to keep fighting because I have so much to live for.”
The fundraising page, which has raised £3,323 at the time of writing, can be viewed here.