To help Yes to Life support Pamela, click here

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Pam Mortimer. I have a son, two daughters who have left home now, and four grandchildren. I live in west London, and up until my early sixties was really very fit and well. In 2007 I was shocked to be diagnosed with bowel cancer. Thankfully it was still operable, so after six weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, I had surgery. Although a difficult time, I got through this fairly well.

After recovering from the operation, things seemed to be going in the right direction and I was beginning to feel the treatment had all been worth it. But four months later, I was devastated again when a scan showed that the cancer had returned. Since then I have had more chemotherapy - a cocktail of extremely strong and toxic drugs - but recently reacted to it very badly. My throat closed and I was unable to breathe, necessitating the use of oxygen and steroids. After this, I decided that I didn’t want to pursue this route any further and so went in search of other options.

I have found a promising treatment called Ukrain, which is a type of chemotherapy that is unusual in being non-toxic and almost without side effects. It is a mixture between two substances that are both individually highly toxic, but in combination are not - the greater celandine plant, and thiotepa, one of the oldest cancer drugs. Sadly it is only available privately and is beyond my limited resources. A course of treatment three weeks long costs around £2500, and I may need a few courses. I shall be able to take this in combination with a regular chemotherapy in tablet form that I hope will not have any drastic side effects.

I feel this treatment offers me a real hope of tipping the balance in my favour and so, as you can imagine, I would sincerely appreciate any help you can offer in making it possible. I have a JustGiving page set up to collect money through the charity Yes to Life, which has already been helping me with some of my costs. All donations made through this page will be used to help fund my treatment. Please click here if you would like to donate.

Thank you for taking an interest in my story.

Just Giving

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure, and donations can be made from anywhere in the world. It's also the most efficient way to contribute: Yes to Life gets your money faster and, if you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure an extra 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, is added to your donation.

To help Yes to Life support Pamela with her treatment costs click here to go to her Just Giving page.