A DESPERATE fundraiser has been launched to raise £40,000 to get a woman battling a rare form of cancer life saving treatment.
Rose Barry-Smith, 64, is battling stage four skin cancer, known as melanoma.
Mrs Barry-Smith, a health care assistant, was first diagnosed with skin cancer in 2012 when she had a mole on her arm removed.
After making a full recovery she received the devastating news in August 2020 that the cancer had returned and she needed emergency surgery.
Despite the surgery the cancer returned again and she was told it was no longer operable.
Her family are now hoping to raise £40,000 to get her specialist cancer treatment abroad.
Husband Denis, 72, of Flowers Way, Clacton, said: “She had surgery on the tumour a week later.
“We thought the surgery was successful but the cancer returned shortly after and we were told it was inoperable because of the location.
“The cancer had reached Rose’s sinus cavity and has now spread to her nasal cavity.
“She was on immunotherapy for a year until last Christmas in 2021.
“The doctors told us the immunotherapy had stopped working and all they had left was chemotherapy.”
Chemotherapy is known to be ineffective against melanoma skin cancer because the tumour is resistant to the method.
The couple have resorted to privately funded means of treatment that are proving to be expensive.
Denis added: “We found Dendritic Cell Therapy on the internet, it’s not available on the NHS and in this country really so we will pursue it on the continent.
“The treatment will involve a trip to Germany or Spain totalling £40,000.”
Dendritic Cell Therapy involves drawing blood from the patient containing ‘T’ cells from the immune system.
Then a sample is taken from the tumour and Rose’s T cells are genetically modified with the sample so they recognise the cancer as dangerous.
These new T cells will be injected into Rose as antigens and focus on destroying the cancer.
This is all done in a laboratory and Rose will have six months of care after, hence the hefty price.
The couple, who marked their 25th wedding anniversary last year, are hoping to raise the money via a fundraising page.
To learn more about Rose’s story and donate towards her treatment visit bit.ly/3BSqyL7.
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