A mum-of-four diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour is trying to raise £80,000 for lifesaving treatment unavailable on the NHS.
Trudie Murphy, 36, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour last month, after she feared she might have multiple sclerosis (MS).
She went to the GP in January after suffering symptoms including tingling in her fingers, loss of feeling in her legs and muscular pain.
But an MRI scan on her spine and brain on June 29 uncovered the tumour, and she was told it was inoperable as it is on the lower left thalamus region of her brain.
On July 8 she was told it was cancerous – but Trudie hopes proton beam therapy which could be provided in the UK could save her life, with a 97 per cent success rate.
Trudie, who lives in Tranent, East Lothian, said every day feels like a month due to the uncertainty of her prognosis.
She is hoping to raise between £60,000 and £80,000 to pay for proton beam therapy in Bedlington, Northumberland, around 100 miles away.
Nearly £20,000 has been raised so far to help the supermarket worker, who is mum to Josh, 17, Naomi, 15, Zak, 11, and Archie, eight.
Trudie said: “Initially we started looking in the USA as I assumed that if there was a UK option, the oncologist would have mentioned it.
“The USA would have been difficult though, on top of the money for the procedure, there would have been living expenses, flights, childcare, it would have been a lot.
“Then I found out about Proton Beam therapy, with a cancer centre in Northumbria.
“It has a 97 per cent success rate.
“Every day feels like a month with this hanging over me.
“My biggest concern is leaving my kids behind.”
It could take four to eight weeks and would allow her to have a home life with husband Dave, 39, and make the drive there and back each day while her kids are in school.
She was stunned at the generosity of donors who have so far raised £18,639 through a Gofundme page.
Trudie said: “I never expected it to surpass the thousand pound mark.
“I thought it was an impossible task, but each day I get more and more hopeful.
“Everybody’s been affected by this Covid one way or another.
“Strangers who have seen the page, people I have never met, are doing raffles and sponsored cycles and things.
“It really makes you feel differently about the world.
“I’ve never had to really rely on anyone, and now, everybody’s coming together like this, it’s phenomenal.
“I just wish it was under different circumstances.”
To donate visit https://uk.gofundme.com/f/treatment-for-trudie