Families are complex units. Some get along, some can’t be in the same room and some, like this unique family, band together despite their circumstances to face whatever life may throw at them.
Nicola Hitchen was told by specialists her stage 4 cervical cancer had advanced beyond the possibility of treatment and she had four months to live.
The 41-year-old mother from Great Boughton in Cheshire, UK, has two sons 14 and 12, and refused to accept this would be her fate. Determined to beat the cancer that has spread to other organs, she turned to an expensive program of five 10-day sessions, at a pioneering chemotherapy centre in Turkey.
The Independent reports that since undergoing her first session in July, the aggressive cancer is in retreat.
A recent CT scan showed that the main tumour in her abdomen has almost gone and others in her liver and on her spine have shrunk dramatically. A secondary tumour in her lungs has also completely gone.
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Nicola’s ex-husband and his new wife are leading a fund-raising campaign for her life-saving treatment.
With the first five sessions costing $136,700 (£80,000), and the family’s finances running out, Nicola was faced with making some “big decisions”.
In stepped her ex-husband’s new wife Clare Hitchen who began a massive fundraising campaign to raise the further $85,500 needed to continue the treatment.
“Money is running out and she may not be able to continue with her life saving treatment,” Clare penned on the emotional crowd-funding page.
“The boys need their Mum and she deserves the chance to watch them grow into men and have their own families.”
Despite having yearly pap smears, Nicola’s cancer wasn’t detected until she presented at hospital with severe abdominal pains. She was diagnosed with pelvic abscess and sepsis, but later tests informed doctors of a tumour in Nicola’s uterus. Nicola wasn’t able to begin cancer treatment until the infection was out of her system. The wait took seven weeks and in that time her cancer had progressed from a treatable stage 2 to an untreatable stage 4.
“Either you accept this is what’s happening and sort your affairs out – or you start looking at other options,” Nicola told The Independent.
“The first wasn’t an option for me.”
After researching many options, even considering alternative therapies, Nicola came across a centre in Istanbul called ChemoThemia, which combines chemotherapy with heat treatments to break down the tumour.
After a CT scan at the end of October showed positive results for Nicola, the family are hopeful they’ll raise enough money so Nicola can continue with her potentially life-saving treatment. So far, Clare has raised $33,300 towards the target of $85,400 (£50,000).
Clare says her husband’s ex-wife is “overwhelmed by the love and support” from her family and complete strangers.
