- Pin it
- SubscribeUnsubscribe
- Embed
Fay Nelmes hasn't added a story.
In February 2014, Natalie Hurley, just 35 years old, had an incredibly painful proximal hip and femur replacement due to the cancer she has been battling since 2011 spreading once more. She also underwent more radiotherapy. Due to this surgery, Natalie is now registered disabled and often needs to use a wheelchair. Devastatingly, Natalie has just learned that there is a new cancerous tumour in her leg. Surgery is unlikely to be an option, with palliative chemotherapy and radiotherapy the next step.Natalie's doctors believe palliative is the only option for her, but she has met a doctor who believes he can prolong her life with alternative treatments: http://www.drsharmadiagnostics.com/cancer_care.htm This treatment is costly and not available on the NHS. Natalie needs to raise money quickly in order to start this treatment at the earliest opportunity, to give her and her family the best chance of a future together.
Natalie has been living through a dreadful ordeal for the past three years. After being given radiotherapy and chemotherapy for mouth cancer (see story below), it was discovered in 2013 that the cancer had spread to her right lung. Natalie then faced the ordeal of major lung surgery, twice, which unfortunately resulted in her having her lung removed.
So how did the nightmare begin? Natalie was eight weeks pregnant with her third child when she noticed a small mouth ulcer on the side of her tongue. She thought it was merely an annoyance, but became more concerned when it had still not disappeared after a few weeks. 'It was quite painful, but as far as I could tell it was a typical mouth ulcer,' says Natalie, who runs an embroidery and printing business with her husband Phil. 'It was slightly smaller than a 5p coin and white on top. I put up with it for a fortnight, then went to France on holiday for three weeks and forgot about it.'
The ulcer first appeared in July 2011, shortly after Natalie's mother had died from breast cancer, so she believed it was caused by the stress of that ordeal, combined with her pregnancy. But after six weeks Natalie saw a doctor. 'The GP said it was an ulcer and I was quite happy. But during a routine dental appointment the following week, I asked the dentist to look at it,' she says. 'I could tell by her face that something was wrong - she said mouth ulcers shouldn't last longer than two weeks.'
Her dentist referred Natalie to a specialist, but the letter went astray. While waiting for an appointment, Natalie visited her GP again, but was told not to worry. More than two months since first spotting the ulcer, and desperate for a diagnosis, she saw another dentist, who immediately referred her to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Somerset. 'By then it was hurting most of the time and kept growing - it had trebled in size. I took painkillers, but could feel it almost burrowing into my tongue,' she says. Doctors took a biopsy and Natalie received a phone call within days, asking her to see a consultant maxillofacial surgeon with a specialist interest in head and neck cancer. He revealed she had a type of mouth cancer called squamous cell carcinoma - a disease that usually affects only the over-50s. 'My world fell apart,' says Natalie, who lives with Phil and their sons Rocca, Jensen and Tait, in Exmouth, Devon. 'I thought I was just going to have a simple operation to have an ulcer taken off.' She had to have, in fact, half her tongue removed, followed by reconstructive surgery using skin grafts from her arm and stomach.
It would be great if everyone could help Natalie get some way towards her target and set her on a possible road to a prolonged life with her cherished family.
Highlights
See all activity29Activity
Delete media item?
Delete this item from the media gallery? It will also be deleted from any related story update.
Set as ?
The campaign video will appear in social media and email.
The campaign cover picture will appear in social media and email.
The will appear at the top of your campaign page and in social media and email.
Reset ?
It will be removed from the top of your campaign and won't be used as default in social media and email. The will remain in the media gallery.
Embed
Share a link
Delete update
Delete this story update?
Any pictures or videos will remain in the campaign's media gallery.
Report campaign
Report submitted
Thank you. We take reports like yours very seriously. Our goal is to keep the community safe.
Please know that we may contact you for more information, but that we won't notify you personally of our decision. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Thank you. We've already received your previous report. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Tell us about the problem. Please fill in both fields below.
Record a video
Upload a video
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Take a minute or two to record one now. Record a short video message of support. Or upload one from your device. You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Upload a short video message of support. Upload a short video message of support. Or record one right now.
- Most effective video length: about a minute.
- Maximum length: 5 min.
- You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Heads up! The existing video will be replaced.
Email your friends
Join our team
Tell people why our cause matters to you. Your personal message will encourage others to help. Easy, effective, optional.
Say it in video
Short personal videos by supporters like you are incredibly powerful. Record one right now and you'll help us raise more money. Easy, optional, effective.
Add a personal goal
Set a personal fundraising goal. You'll encourage more contributions if you do. And rest easy. There's no obligation to achieve your goal or bad consequences if you don't. Easy, optional, effective.
We have a video!
Video thumbnail
We'd love to show you our campaign video. Want to take a look?
, you're already on the team.