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Mum Attempts To Raise £100,000 For Swiss Drug Trials After Daughter's Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

Mum Attempts To Raise £100,000 For Swiss Drug Trials After Daughter's Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

Lois Buckley knew something wasn't right when her nine-year-old daughter Teigan was experiencing dizzy spells and slurring her speech

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

For many families, Easter morning was spent in pyjamas, eating chocolate eggs on the sofa and hunting for treats in the garden.

It couldn't have been any different for Lois Buckley's family. Their lives changed forever that morning when they received a call to tell them that daughter Teigan, eight, was being diagnosed with Diffuse Pontine Glioma (DIPG) - one of the most aggressive and deadly childhood cancers.

Now, the family are attempting to raise £100,000 ($123,000) which will enable Teigan, who is now nine, to undergo drug trials in Switzerland. You can donate to the GoFundMe here.

The family hope that little Teigan can go to Switzerland for trials.
GoFundMe

In the days running up to the diagnosis, Teigan experienced dizzy spells and slurred speech, then on 12 April she fell down the stairs, which led to Lois ringing an ambulance.

Lois, who was in lockdown with Teigan and her younger daughter Arianna as well as being 36 weeks pregnant, said the news turned the family 'upside down' but added that the youngster has been coping like a 'warrior'.

Medics explained that the tumour was 'terminal' with no effective cure or treatment. The two-year survival rate is around 10 percent and the five-year rate is just two percent, but the family live in hope after doctors were amazed following Teigan's first round of radiotherapy showed the tumour had shrunk.

Teigan and her sister Arianna.
GoFundMe

Speaking to CoventryLive, 30-year-old Lois said: "I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. My life couldn't have got much worse at that time. I honestly didn't know how we would make it through the day.

"We were in the coronavirus lockdown, I was 36 weeks pregnant, and my eldest daughter had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

"She'd been feeling dizzy, and was walking like she was drunk. At first I thought it was the heat and she was dehydrated, but when she started dribbling and slurring her words, I knew it was more serious."

Teigan in hospital.
GoFundMe

The mum-of-three went on: "The tumour has shrunk a lot, and the consultants say it's one of the best results they've seen. I feel more positive now that she's acting more like herself and playing."

Now the race is on to raise the funds to get the youngster to Switzerland. She has to be within 12 weeks post radiotherapy to qualify - she is currently on week six.

The GoFundMe page was set up five days ago with it already raising over £27,000 at the time of writing.

Featured Image Credit: Lois Buckley

Topics: UK News, Cancer, Health