Daily Express

IT’S A MIRACLE!

Cancer-hit nurse ‘in remission’ thanks to drugs paid for by you

- By Sarah Westcott ●To donate visit https://uk. gofundme.com/laura-treatmentf­und.

AN NHS nurse stricken with “terminal” cancer revealed last night that her disease is in remission after raising the funds to buy her own medicine. Laura Harris, 43, was told she had bowel cancer early last year and needed to take an expensive drug not currently available on the NHS to keep herself alive. Bevacizuma­b treatment is not paid for by the NHS after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said in 2010 that the benefits “did not justify the costs”. So she set out to raise the money to buy it herself, setting up a fundraisin­g page aimed at getting £21,000 for an initial cycle of the drug which is given in combinatio­n with chemothera­py. Donations poured in after the Daily Express highlighte­d her plight in March, calling on readers to help Laura buy more precious time.

Kindness

The fund has now topped £100,000, allowing her to complete not one but three cycles of Bevacizuma­b. The treatment is holding her cancer at bay and has even shrunk some tumours.

Laura, of Barnstaple, Devon, said she had been “blown away” by the kindness of those who have donated.

She said: “I am in remission with stage 4 cancer and I am 19 months down the line. It feels like a miracle right now.

“The generosity of your readers is unbelievab­le. They are buying me life and giving me a chance. You can’t put a price tag on that.”

The specialist oncology nurse, who has spent 10 years looking after cancer patients, was originally given just three months to live.

But Laura said: “I have some great news to share for all of you who shared or donated.

“I had a scan while in hospital and there is ‘No evidence of active disease’ in me anywhere.

“I’m staying on this lifeextend­ing treatment as long as possible. Thank you for saving my life.” Laura said her latest scan was carried out when she was suffering from an infection and the results were “better than she had ever hoped for”.

She said: “None of my bone mets (signs of cancer in the bone) appear active or are growing and my lymph nodes have shrunk down to normal.

“My oncologist said my lungs look as if they’ve never had cancer in them. He fell over his chair, he was so surprised.

“My cancer deposits have all shrunk down and been rendered inactive by my current treatment regime.

“This means none of my cancer is active or growing right now.

“My family and I are over the moon with these results. It shows the world that stage 4 cancer doesn’t have to be an automatic death sentence.”

Laura said they were continuing to raise money because she was hoping it would pay for several years’ treatment in the future to give her as long as possible with her teenage children Noah and Molly.

She said: “Of course the success of the treatment means I will continue on it as long as it continues to work. We have left our fundraisin­g page open for any who would want to donate towards my future treatment.

“My greatest wish is to reach the masses with my message. You are never too young, be vigilant over your own health and stage 4 cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence.”

Her husband Paul, 44, said: “I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief. I feel safe in the knowledge that Laura is getting the best care possible. I am looking forward to all the more memories we are going to make together with this additional time.”

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 ?? Pictures: SWNS ?? NHS nurse Laura Harris undergoes her latest treatment
Pictures: SWNS NHS nurse Laura Harris undergoes her latest treatment
 ??  ?? Laura with Noah and Molly and the Daily Express on March 24
Laura with Noah and Molly and the Daily Express on March 24
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