A mum from Harle Syke is to shave her hair off to raise money for a hospice, after being given the devastating news that her cancer is incurable.
46-year-old Cheryl Wood has stage four cervical cancer which has spread to other parts of her body.
Cheryl says it took months for doctors to take her symptoms seriously and has now been told she has one to two years to live if she undergoes chemotherapy.
She said: “It’s a recurring cancer and I originally cervical cancer in 2013 but it was low grade and I got it sorted.
“In August 2022 I started to have leg pain while travelling to see my daughter and grandson in Glastonbury.
“I started going to the doctors to get some advice and it got worse over time. It then moved to my knee and I kept going back to the doctors to find out what was wrong.”
The pain was initially dismissed as shin splints but Cheryl pressed for an MRI scan after she started falling over in December.
She said: “My leg would just give way and I was getting shooting pains. I thought it was just sciatica.
“By the time I received a diagnosis I was in a wheelchair and could barely walk.
“I had very little feeling in my leg. I had been sleeping on my settee for months and my mental health was bad.”
Cheryl was given the devastating news that she had incurable cancer on April 5, with tumours reported to be on her spine and pelvis.
She immediately recieved five rounds of radiotherapy.
On Friday, April 28, she was told she only had one to two years to live but is hopeful that an immunotherapy drug she is set to receive on the NHS, called pembrolizumab, will extend her life.
Throughout the tough time Cheryl says Pendleside Hospice has helped her.
She said: “They have helped with my mobility and have people come around to the house to fit rails and appealed for grants that will help me to get a stair lift.
“They are looking for any way possible to make my life better and it is working. My mental health has picked up and I am coming into work now.
“They are doing everything they can as a hospice to give me independence and a quality of life.”
As well as helping with end of life care, the hospice works to enhance the quality of life for people with life-limiting illnesses who might still be well enough to live at home.
Cheryl said: “When I first found out they were going to be helping me I cried because I thought it was the end, I didn’t understand the true extent of the things they do.
“It’s not just about what happens inside that hospice, they do so much to help people who are still living at home which I wasn’t aware of.
“I want to fight for them as they are fighting for me and trying to make my life better at this horrible time.”
Cheryl will be shaving her hair off to raise money and awareness for the hospice. The event will take place on Saturday, May 6, at the Craven Heifer pub in Burnley.
Cheryl said: “Due to the chemotherapy I am going to lose my hair, so I will shave my head on my terms.
“I want to do it when my family and friends are around me. I also want to try and make some money for the hospice.”
More than £2,600 has been raised so far and Cheryl wants to thank anyone who has donated.
She said: “I only thought I’d make around £500 but the fundraiser has gone a bit crazy. Since Monday (May 1) we have raised more than £2,600 which is incredible.
“We are using the power of social media to spread awareness of the hospice and raise some more money for them.”
To donate visit Cheryl’s JustGiving page.
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