Clinical trial hopes for brave young NI mum fighting terminal brain cancer
A courageous mum-of-three battling terminal brain cancer has spoken of her determination to keep fighting for her life.
Emma Hamilton’s world was turned upside down in May - just six weeks after the birth of her baby daughter Lottie.
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma, with an estimated prognosis of 12 to 18 months.
Currently undergoing six weeks of intensive radiotherapy, brave Emma says she has no intention of giving up and becoming “another statistic”.
Emma grew up in Banbridge and attended Ballydown Primary School and then Dromore High School. She moved to Lisburn in her mid-twenties.
In an interview with the Chronicle, she told of the shock diagnosis and how a clinical trial in London could be her only hope - to give her more precious time with her young family.
Emma has set up a GoFundMe page to fundraise towards the cost of the pioneering treatment and to make as many special memories with her children (aged 11, five and four months) as possible.
The local mum recalled: “The baby was six weeks old when, what I thought was a migraine, turned out to be a brain tumour.
“The doctor initially thought I’d had a stroke as my face was down on one side.”
Subsequent MRI and CT scans showed that it was, in fact, a brain tumour of about six centimetres.
On May 20, Emma underwent surgery to remove the tumour and, while recovering in hospital after the operation, she was dealt the devastating news that the cancer was terminal.
Then, another blow followed three weeks ago, when Emma was informed that her cancer could not be treated with chemotherapy, as the cancer cells would resist it.
“I was told this would make my prognosis slightly worse, which means, with just radiotherapy, it could be less than 12 months,” she revealed.
"From my research, the NHS says that only 25% of all patients with this will get past 12 months and only 1% will get past five years.
“But I’m determined to fight this. I have three kids and I'm not done yet.
“I’ve been invited to go for clinical trials in London after the radiotherapy finishes in September.
“Straight away I said ‘yes’, then I thought, ‘how am I going to do that? How am I going to afford that?
“It was my mum and sister who suggested that I start a GoFundMe page. At the start I was unsure as I didn't want people to think I was begging, but they encouraged me to do it.
chance
“I want to beat this cancer. I don't want to give up and, if I'm being given a chance, then I want to fight with everything I've got."
In a heartbreaking message on her fundraising page, Emma said she didn’t want to leave her children without a mother.
“I love life and I don’t want to go yet. I’m 41 years old. I don’t want to die yet. I need all the help I can get.
“Too many people are a death statistic and I don’t want to be one of them.
"If you can help me and my kids not to lose their mother too soon and, not only for myself, if I can in any way help science, medical professionals find a cure for this death sentence so many people are being handed daily, I will know nothing I have endured will have been in vain.”
She added: “There are many things I had hoped to do in my life, places to go, travel and see some of the world, go on safari etc. but I thought, like many, I’d all the time in the world to work and save for these life experiences.
“Sadly for me it looks like time is not on my side (but I intend to fight with every fibre of my being). My young children don’t know the battle I am facing, they don’t know the short time I may have been given with them.
“If it is only that, my one wish is to take my children to Disneyland to make memories that my babies can treasure forever.”
Emma’s faith has given her physical and spiritual strength for the fight ahead.
“People keep saying to me that I don't look like someone who is seriously ill because I’m walking around,” she said.
“The physio in the hospital is astounded at the strength I’m showing.
“I'm a born again Christian and I've been keeping that very close to my heart and reading the Bible non-stop.
“It does give you strength - and it gives you hope.”
Over £4,000 has been donated so far. Chronicle readers can support Emma’s fundraiser at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/yvgkwh-please-donate-to-help