Friends reunite to help send pal to Mexico for cancer op

Fundraiser raffle as pals battle to save Laura’s life

A GROUP of college friends have reunited to help raise funds for their pal after she was stricken with a rare and aggressive cancer.

Laura Gilmore, from Longford, was misdiagnosed for three years before doctors confirmed she had a tumour in her pancreas.

Now her friends from IT Sligo have organised a raffle to help send Laura to the Hope4cancer clinic in Cancun, Mexico.

Tickets to see Manchester United play Arsenal, overnight hotel stays, a wedding video package and afternoon tea are just some of the prizes being raffled off.

Laura Kearns said they all wanted to do something to help their friend.

She explained: “Laura was always the fittest and most active when we were in college, she’d always drag me to the gym and out running.

“She’s actually coming to the live draw on Saturday which is great.

“We haven’t seen her in years because of Covid so it will be great to see her again.”

After experiencing stomach cramps in 2017, Laura had gone to her GP endless times to find the root of the problem.

What was first said to be a food intolerance was then changed to IBS, before then being diagnosed again as endometriosis

However, when Laura’s pain became unbearable, she went to A&E and had a CT scan of her stomach in May 2020.

Laura and husband Paul were told she had pancreatic cancer, but a later biopsy revealed it to be neuroendocrine.

The 12-course chemotherapy treatment available in the UK, where she lives with Paul, was not successful.

Laura travelled to Cancun in June and unfortunately, another tumour was discovered in a lymph node on her neck.

Her bid to not just prolong her life, but beat the disease that has already spread to her stomach and liver has resulted in donations coming to her Gofundme page.

The raffle will take place this Saturday, August 28 at 6pm at the Great National Hotel in Ballina.

For tickets, which cost €10, go to www. idonate.ie/6510_help-laura-heal.htm or visit her Gofundme account at www. gofundme.com/f/gofundmecomfhelp-laura-heal-from-cancer