Fi raising cash to buy drug in bid to extend life

A TAYSIDE woman living with terminal cancer has launched a fundraiser in a bid to fund treatment that could prolong her life.

Fi Munro was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in January 2016 and had surgery to remove five of her organs, and parts of four more, before the disease went into remission.

However, in January this year, the 32-year-old was given the devastating news it had returned — with scans showing tumours on her right lung and left kidney, along with a mass in her abdomen.

The Errol woman is now appealing to the public to help her raise the money to buy the drug Avastin privately in the hope it will improve her quality of life while also prolonging it.

This route would be an alternative to chemotherapy, which Mrs Munro says may only extend her life by a few months — much of which would be spent in hospital.

If her appeal is successful and the Avastin helps, she hopes to be placed on an immunotherapy trial for people suffering from non-genetic cancer or to use some of the money raised to seek treatment abroad.

Mrs Munro, who has written a book and blogs about living with cancer, said she responded well to Avastin when prescribed it alongside her chemotherapy after first being diagnosed. The drug is no longer available to her through the NHS.

Mrs Munro said: “My body didn’t respond to chemotherapy very well the first time and it is really only going to buy me a bit more time.

“Avastin stops the cancer developing new blood vessels, it doesn’t attack the cancer like chemotherapy. Hopefully, it will stop the aggression. Avastin is £3,000 a dose, you get a dose every three weeks.”

Donations can be made at gofundme. com/FiMunro.

Fi Munro