Inspirational Burnley mum with terminal cervical cancer fundraising for Pendleside Hospice
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The community is rallying around the Burnley grandma who has raised nearly £10,000 in less than two weeks for Pendleside Hospice after discovering her cervical cancer had returned after a decade of being free of it.
Cheryl Wood, originally from Nelson, vows she will not "crumble and wither away" and is undergoing tests to see if she is a match for an immunotherapy drug - the first new treatment for cervical cancer to come onto the NHS in 14 years.
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Hide AdThe 46-year-old said: "I've always been active and spent my life in the hills as a walker or skier.
"Now, it has completely changed. I've gone from being an independent woman who climbs mountains to someone who cannot walk."
Despite this, friends and neighbours are helping the mum-of-one live her life to the full by hosting fundraisers like a head shave at the Craven Heifer pub earlier this month for the charity that has helped her regain some independence.
Cheryl, who has made £9,600 with Gift Aid, visited her GP last September after developing shin pain, which she put down to long car journeys. She spent six months yoyoing between medical appointments before an MRI scan revealed she had cancer. After she lost feeling in one of her legs, medics gave her one to two years to live.
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Hide AdBut Cheryl hopes to be a match for the drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda®). The substance has only been on the NHS for late-stage cervical cancer for seven weeks but has had success with other forms, including breast, bowel and lung. It is injected into the body to help stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells.
Cheryl is also under the hospice's care and calls the staff "amazing," saying they immediately arranged pain relief, physical therapy, counselling, and disability-friendly alterations to her home.
"The hospice took care of everything. I thought it was for when you were at the end; I didn't realise it could help you throughout the journey. It took the stress out of everything. It's been fantastic.
"Everything is all about making my life easier. I wouldn't function without its support. I would have hidden from the world, but now I'm trying to tackle everything head-on.
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Hide Ad"Everyone thinks you're going to crumble and wither away. I'm not for that. My posts since coming out with the news have had #NeverGiveUp."
Living by her words, Cheryl hosted the head shave with the help of friend Jackie Robinson and landlady Michelle Naylor before starting chemotherapy last Monday. Her story touched the community, with her Just Giving page amassing around £2,000 in 24 hours.
Along with her "amazing" friends and neighbours, she hopes to continue fundraising for the hospice and is selling wristbands with her inspiring message - "never give up" - at the Craven Heifer.
"I'm looking at what I can do. Just because this has changed me, I can't quit. I could become depressed, but this morning I was looking into disability skiing. I'm an adrenaline junkie. Even though my leg doesn't work, I'm looking for ways to live as well as I can and fight this illness."
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