‘I want to watch my babies grow for as long as I can’

Thirty-year-old Ashlee, who is suffering from stage four breast cancer, is anxious to explore an alternative therapy for use alongside chemotherapy in a bid to ease her “unmanageable pain”.

Ashlee said: “I just want to watch my babies grow for as long as I possibly can.”

Her children, Amelia, Peter and Conor are aged just four, three and two years old.

Her brother Samuel has set up a fundraiser for her on Go Fund Me.

He explained that Ashlee would like to try an alternative therapy in the hope that it can help with pain management and nausea and improve her appetite and sleep.

Ashlee was first diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2016.

She said: “There are no words to describe how we felt when we heard the doctor say it, I became so scared and worried for my kids.

“In January 2017 I began chemotherapy which was very hard, it took such a toll on me. I was constantly sick, all my hair fell out and I didn’t even have have the energy to play with the kids.

“I was devastated but I still didn’t give up, even when I had to have a double mastectomy on top of everything I was already dealing with.

“My body and spirit were broken but if I could pull through this and be there for my children it would all be worth it. That was what I held onto through all of it. That is what kept me strong.

“In 2018 I began to recover, My family was so proud of me. I had endured the pain of chemotherapy and radiography and came out the other end.

“My hope for the future was returning and I had returned to work as a care assistant but most importantly, I was beginning to feel like a mum again.

“Later in the year, I began to struggle with back and abdominal pain, and in July, I had to undergo surgery once again to remove an ovary, a growth on my pelvis and other growths throughout my body.

“But the back pain increased and then I found a lump under my arm, I developed rib pain and sadly, the week before Christmas, I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, from my neck down my spine including my ribs, pelvis, hips and femurs.

“I would like to explore some alternative therapies to use alongside my chemotherapy. We are also asking for help with the costs of myself being off work and in the foreseeable future my partner Peter also being off work so he can look after me.

“I just want to watch my babies grow for as long as I possibly can. If I were to pass on whilst fighting against this, then I would like the donations to go towards my funeral cost and the rest for my kids.”

The local fundraiser will be held at RAOB Buffs Social Club, on March 29, at 8.00 pm, with singers from across the province taking part. Tickets available at the bar.