Mum's fight to'¨beat '˜incurable' lung cancer

A Sutton mum and former teacher has vowed to keep fighting after being diagnosed with 'untreatable' stage four lung cancer.

Rachel Lucas, aged 44, who has two young sons and taught art at Sutton’s Quarrydale Academy, says the NHS says her condition is “untreatable”.

But she is now raising money so she can receive private treatment.

Rachel said: “I am a fighter, I am not going to give up.

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“I am almost too ill for an NHS hospital, basically left to my own devices, but I refuse to accept there is nothing that can be done.

“I have found private treatments in this country and abroad, but these being private obviously come at a great cost.

“I have funded various treatments myself, but the money needed for this, sadly, is far beyond my means.”

She needs to raise £60,000 for the “cutting edge” treatment and has so far raised almost £5,000 on her YouCaring page.

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Rachel told her two sons, George,eight, and seven-year-old Milo, about her diagnosis just before they went back to school, as she did not want to spoil their summer holiday.

She said: “It is something you never want to have to say to your child.

“It was heartbreaking, no mum wants to make their child cry, but you have to stay strong for them.”

Rachel said Milo told her: Mummy, I want you to grow old and grey just like all the other Mummies do.”

Rachel was given the news of her cancer in March.

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She first stated noticing problems in February 2016 and had a X-ray of her lungs, which revealed a shadow on one.

She said: “Every other month, I had another X-ray which showed progression of the shadow.

“The diagnosis was self-organising pneumonia.”

In December 2016 Rachel was rushed to hospital with sepsis after she came off her antibiotics, spending five days in hospital because of her weakened immune system.

On the day she was discharged, she was told about a radiologist’s report following a separate procedure a few weeks earlier.

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Rachel said: “Hospital staff told me the radiologist thought I had signs of cancer.”

A biopsy revealed she had cancer.

She said: “I had to watch my mother break down, unable to deal with the devastating news I had late-stage lung cancer and no suitable treatment plans were available to me.

“I’m devastated because it would have been curable if I had been treated when it was first noticed.

“I thought something was wrong, I was feeling run down, but I was assured it was nothing sinister.”

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n A cake sale is being held at St Andrew’s Parish Hall, Mansfield Road Skegby, on Monday, October 2, from 4-6pm to raise money for Rachel.

n To donate to Rachel’s cause, visityoucaring.com/rachellucas-956075

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