A SCOTTISH mum who has been given only weeks to live has been moved to tears by the “overwhelming” response to her crowdfunding campaign for lifesaving treatment.
Roz Paterson, who has an aggressive form of blood cancer, was in despair after four bouts of chemotherapy failed and she discovered that the only treatment that could save her life would cost £500,000.
READ MORE: I have one chance to stay alive and I’ll do everything I can to take it
However friends persuaded Paterson, of Beauly, near Inverness, to set up a crowdfunding campaign – pointing out that if 50,000 people gave just £10 each she would raise enough for treatment in the United States.
Launched on Tuesday, by late yesterday afternoon more than £43k had been raised by the Crowdfunder, enough for a deposit for the clinic in Boston. The mum of two still has a long way to go but has been given hope she may see Thea, 13, and David, 10, grow up.
“It’s quite overwhelming actually,” she said. “I was very tearful because I just didn’t expect the level of response.”
She said those who had already donated were “lifesavers”. “I just can’t thank them enough for their generous impulse and their pro-activeness,” said the 52-year-old. “It’s absolutely wonderful, it’s just great. I appreciate it from absolutely everyone as I know for some people £5 is a lot. I just really appreciate that.”
Paterson was given weeks – “maybe months” – to live after being diagnosed with Large Diffuse B-Cell Lymphoma (LDBCL), an aggressive form of blood cancer.
A pioneering new treatment called CAR T-cell Therapy could save her but it is not available on the NHS in Scotland and she is not eligible for treatment in England. She could access it at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston but the treatment not only requires a very expensive drug but also a lengthy stay in hospital. Paterson said she was at first embarrassed to ask for money but agreed to set up the crowdfunding page after being encouraged by friends.
If the sum is raised she will travel with her children and her husband, Malcolm McDonald, 62, to Boston for the treatment which will involve taking T-cells from her blood, which will then be charged or genetically engineered so that they grow and multiply in the lab. The cells will then be returned to her bloodstream, where it is expected that they will recognise and attack the cancer cells.
Paterson accepts there is a chance it may not work but said she was “desperate” to stay alive.
“I have two young children and, like any mother, I want to see them grow up ... I want to see who they’ll become, I want to be there to give them love and support, and to hold my grandchildren,” she said. “We’re a very little family, and need each other very much. My situation is about as urgent as it could be. My consultant talks in terms of ‘weeks, maybe months’, and the cancer is at an advanced stage. If you can help me at all, help me today, because this disease is not slowing down for anyone. It might work. I might get better. I might get to come home to Beauly and do the only thing I ever wanted – to live this plain, ordinary, wonderful life.”
The fundraiser can be found at www.gofundme.com/lifesaving-treatment-for-roz
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