A MOTHER with terminal cancer has pledged to donate her body to research – and has even signed up to jump out of a plane.
Susie Harrison, from Ferring, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer shortly before Christmas last year.
The 58-year-old, whose first symptoms were put down to a stomach bug, got progressively worse and was eventually left bed-ridden.
“I couldn’t eat, I was being sick, and then I went totally yellow,” she said. “That’s when the doctors diagnosed pancreatic cancer.
“I was completely devastated. But I was also determined to stay positive and fight.”
The mother underwent an operation where surgeons re-routed her stomach and put a stent in her liver, which was followed by six months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy.
But then earlier this month, she was given more devastating news – her cancer had progressed to stage four and was inoperable.
“This time surgery isn’t an option,” she said. “But they will keep a close eye on me and give me further chemo if I need it.”
Despite the recent diagnosis and battles with other health issues including arthritis, Susie is determined to live her life to the fullest - joining a campaign to save lives, volunteering in a Cancer Research UK shop and planning to fulfil a life-long ambition to go skydiving.
She began volunteering at the Cancer Research UK shop in Arundel in September 2018.
She said the treatment made her feel extremely low, especially during lockdown, but regular cards and messages from her colleagues lifted her spirits.
“It helped keep me strong,” she said. “There’s a togetherness about it - we’re like a family.
“The shop has given me purpose. When I’m there, my life isn’t about cancer, it’s about me. Being able to say to people I’m back at work has given me the biggest lift I’ve had.”
She added: “I’m also planning a parachute jump. I’ve always wanted to do it – maybe it’s just because I’d have a big bloke strapped to me.”
Susie is not new to cancer, having lost her a previous partner Adam to a brain tumour in 1997, aged 33.
She is thankful to have spent more time with her daughter Amelia, 21, after being treated with capecitabine and oxaliplatin.
“I’m so grateful for the treatment I’ve had - it has given me more precious moments with Amelia and my friends,” she said.
“I’m not daft – I know breakthroughs are not going to be in my time. But I really think we are close.
“As a result of the pandemic cancer is as urgent an issue as it’s ever been, so I hope people will play their part. Every action – big or small – helps Cancer Research UK to ensure more people survive or have kinder treatments.”
She is now backing Cancer Research UK’s Paly Your Part campaign.
“One in two people will get cancer in their lifetime - but all of us can help beat it,” she said.
“I’m going to donate my body to research – I think I can provide quite a puzzle for them. And it means I’m still carrying on helping.”
In the South East, around 52,100 people are diagnosed with cancer every year.
Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £27 million in the South East alone last year on leading scientific and clinical research.
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