Parents of teenage cancer sufferer attempting to raise £1m for surgery in US
THE parents of a teenage girl who was refused surgery in the UK to remove her cancerous tumours are trying to raise £1m to have treatment in America.
Martin and Linda Turner are desperate to raise funds to save their only daughter Kelly, 16, who was diagnosed with Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumour, an aggressive and rare cancer in October last year.
The artistic teen initially spent six weeks in hospital and has been in and out since having nine rounds of chemotherapy.
She has now lost all her long, curly brown hair and has been off school since she was diagnosed.
She was dealt a further blow been told that high risk surgery to remove the tumour is not available in the UK.
Speaking about when she first became ill, Mr Turner, 61, said: "Up until October 2015 she was fit and well and enjoying a happy and fulfilling life.
"But then she had problems in PE at school – pains in her stomach and bloating.
"Linda took her to the local doctor and he gave her Gaviscon.
"Two days later she was in incredible pain and we called the 111 service and took her to the local hospital.
"They gave her an examination and she was transferred to the William Harvey in Ashford.
They say it is not about the money, but clearly it is
"There, they calmly announced it was cancer."
Mr Turner, who worked as a Border Force Officer for 44 years, but is now partly retired, says the family were given little support from staff following the initial announcement. Kelly was then taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London where she spent a week before going to The Royal Marsden in London.
Mr Turner, from Dover, Kent, added: "She's been well cared for by The Royal Marsden with nine rounds of chemotherapy which has responded well, but because there are tumours close to her liver they're not prepared to carry out any surgery.
"As well as the tumour on her liver, there are others on her abdomen and ovaries. We don't know how many exactly. They just say 'several'. Chemo has reduced them in size. "They say it is not about the money, but clearly it is.
"I'm a true Brit, a proud Brit, but it is disappointing.
"We will have to go to USA and it will cost approximately £700,000 plus. We do not have this and have no USA insurance.
"Without surgery or immunotherapy Kelly may well only live for approximately two years if she's lucky.
"We have to try everything for her.
"She is our only daughter. We call her our little best friend. We've always treated her like an equal. She is very mature. She is 16 going on 25.
"She always has been, even when she was five we said she was going on 15.
"Kelly is so intelligent, witty and kind.”
The family are now campaigning hard to get Kelly to America.
They have two options - to take her to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York - which requires payment upfront - or to St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr Turner said: "There's a patient we know of a few years older than Kelly from the UK, who went to New York and is recovering at the moment, so we know it's possible."
He has taken to Twitter to try to encourage celebrities to support their appeal. So far he has contacted Simon Cowell, David Cameron, Amanda Holden, Kate Winslet, Tome Cruise and many more. Doctors have told Kelly that without treatment she has two years to live with her condition.
Speaking through tears, she said that is not long enough to do all the things she wants to achieve, including a career in medicine.
She said: "I have so much to live for. I want to do normal things, artwork and crochet.
"I want to be a radiographer when I'm older to help other people.
"There are so many things I want to do in my life; I can't do it all in two years."
During her chemo, Kelly has been studying English language and literature at home, so she can sit her GCSE exams. This has been funded by St Edmund's School in Dover, and she hopes to continue the rest of her Year 11 exams next year.
To help, go to https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/kelly-turner