wigs to wishes.org.uk

The “Dawn Hughes Wigs to Wishes Fund” has been set up to enable me to receive further treatment at an Oncology Clinic in Germany where they have had a high success rate in stopping the spread of Cancer in patients and giving them the best possible chance of remission. The Berkshire Cancer Centre have informed me that there is little chance of my Cancer going into remission with the treatment available in this country.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my website. I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a wife and mother of 3 young children, Matthew 13, Ellie 10 and Freddie 6. I was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2001 at the age of 36. Following Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy, I was in remission until a chance MRI scan in Feb 2005 for an unrelated problem, detected that the Cancer had returned. I was then diagnosed with Secondary Breast Cancer. The likely prognosis given in February was 18 months to 5 years. I then had to undergo aggressive Chemotherapy, but following the results of a recent bone scan, it was found that the Cancer is still spreading. The treatment in Germany will cost thousands of pounds and for most people like myself, the opportunity for this is a dream. Many of my Family and Friends want to make this dream a reality and are making tremendous fund raising efforts, because without them, I would not be able to seek the treatment that I so obviously need and which is not being offered in this country.

Friday, September 30, 2005

Coffee Morning

Coffee morning hosted by Sue Darcy. In order for me to fund the treatment in Germany, friends have been very kind in organising fund raising events. Today is the first of these.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

1st visit at the Leonardis Klinik

Flew out to Germany with mum and dad for first appointment with German Oncologist. The minute I walked through the door of the clinic I was whisked off to the treatment room for blood tests and then some infusions. One was Selenium (which mops up the free radicals) and the other was Hepa Metz (this protects the liver and helps it to deal with toxins).

Spoke with a Dr Draczynski at length regarding my condition and then during the afternoon had a meeting with Dr Jacob the Oncologist. She thought it was unsatisfactory that my treatment had stopped until I showed signs of further spread. She said that you need to be proactive and not reactive. She suggested various blood tests including a chemosensitivity test and a bone marrow puncture. The latter wasn’t as painful as expected although I did feel quite bruised for a number of days after.

Dr Jacob has given me a report of what she would like to propose, dependent upon various test results. She has suggested that I return for a PET scan on 5 October at which time the chemo sensitivity test results and bone marrow puncture should be available. She will then be able to provide me with a detailed treatment plan based on the results.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Gathering information

Meeting with UK Oncologist to inform her of my intention to visit Germany and gather as much information about my condition as possible. I was hoping to get a copy of my notes to take with me to Germany but you have to apply for your notes through the PALs team and once you have made an application, it can take up to 4 weeks to get them.

Had a really good discussion with my Onc although she's a little sceptical on what results the German Clinic could achieve. She basically said that once the cancer has spread, there are cancer cells in your body which cannot be got rid of. What the RBH are trying to do is suppress the cells wherever they are. I got the necessary information from her, some of which I didn’t even know about, like, I had a Grade 2, 24mm tumour and that 8 out of 25 lymph nodes tested positive.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Appointment in Germany

Rang the Leonardis Klinik and have made an appointment to meet with their Oncologist, Dr Jacob on 21/9/05.