Nearly £20,000 raised for Chichester mum of four diagnosed with stomach cancer
Kind-hearted donors have raised nearly £20,000 for a Chichester mum of four who was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the start of the month.
Camilla Chapman described the moment she was told she could have cancer as a ‘black cloud’ descending over the lives of her, her fiance Matt and her four children. Doctors discovered a lesion in her stomach, which could well have been an early sign of cancer, and referred her for a CT scan.
After 11 days, the results of the scan showed she had a particularly aggressive form of cancer, which had already spread to her cardia, liver, lungs and lymph nodes. The outlook was bleak. Chemotherapy might give her more time, but the cancer itself was inoperable, and experts believed she had a year left to live.
But Camilla isn’t ready to give up. Speaking to the Chichester Observer, she said she’s going to keep fighting for as long as she can.
"It’s awful,” she said. “I’ve got four young kids at home, I couldn’t accept it. Even now, I can’t accept it. I have to keep going for my family.
"I’m not going to let this take over my body. You hear about these miracles, and I’m going to be one; that’s where my head’s at and that’s where we are as a family; we have to stay strong.”
That’s where the fundraiser comes in. The most wonderful thing about the money they’ve raised so far, Camilla said, is that it frees her up to focus on recovery. “We’re self-employed, so we have no backing in terms of sick pay, or anything like that, there’s no company insurance or savings plan. We literally work to pay the bills. So the first thing I thought of in that meeting is ‘how am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to pay for food? How are we going to function as a family, let alone go through treatment.”
The money they’ve raised so far will be used to make all of that possible, and to explore a range of alternative treatments not currently available on the NHS. “There’s a centre of excellence in Germany that specialises in stomach cancers, there’s a place in New York that specialises in different types of genetic therapy. There’s stuff that I hadn’t even considered looking at. And now, seeing that number go up, it’s made me think that maybe I can start reaching out. Having this at my back gives me so many options that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
The scope, scale and immensity of support has been just as encouraging. Many of the donors are fans of Camilla’s online business, Hope Plants, which delivers plant stock from nurseries to paying customers’ doors, as well as friends, family and well-wishers. “It’s grown really big. People are sharing it and donating, and off the back of that a few of the mums from our children’s school have set up a fundraising event. The number of people who have come forward and want to help us is overwhelming. I can’t even put into words how grateful we are. To have that support now, for us as a family, is incredible. It’s like this weight is slowly lifting off our shoulders.”
To find out more and donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/camillachapman