Tayside writer launches fundraising bid for US cancer treatment

A TAYSIDE writer is facing a stark choice between “brutal” chemotherapy and costly treatment overseas after an experimental NHS trial to treat her ovarian cancer proved unsuccessful.

Fi Munro has spent the last four years fighting the terminal disease and has had surgery to remove several organs, including her womb and spleen.

She has now launched a crowdfunding appeal to help explore further treatment options in the US after immunotherapy failed to stop cancerous growths on her lungs.

The 34-year-old, from Carse of Gowrie, said: “When I was first diagnosed, I wanted to be very independent and I wanted to do this on my own terms.

“I found it quite hard to reach out and lean on other people.

“But what I’ve found over the last four years is that you find your strength in vulnerability, and that is what I’m trying to embrace this time. I’m ready to say ‘I need your help’.”

She said her 15-month immunotherapy trial worked on some parts of her body, but not her lungs.

“I am now looking at working with doctors in America to see if there are more treatment options,” Fi said.

“Obviously, this treatment will be private and expensive, so I will have to fundraise for that.

“I’m only 34 and I have so much more living to do.”

She hopes t o r ai se £10,000 to pay for treatment in the US

Fi – who wrote the book How Long Have You Got? – added: “If I turn down chemotherapy, the only other option on the NHS is end-of-life care and that is not something I’m considering.

“I don’t feel that I’m out of options yet.”

To support the campaign, visit Fi’s Go Fund Me page.