A mum-of-two who was given the all-clear from cancer almost a year ago has been struck down with a terminal brain tumour.
Lisa Coxon, 36, was due to be marking 12 months of being free from cancer on April 27.
However, Lisa has been given the shattering news that her cancer has returned and can no longer be cured, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
The Staffordshire Police detective, who lives in Tean with her husband Jordan and their children Ace, two, and Jax, six, had been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in August 2020 and underwent and exhausting six months of chemotherapy.
Brave Lisa then went viral after posting a video celebrating the end of her treatment.
It was four weeks ago when she realised something wasn’t quite right and at first she put it down to having her ovaries removed. But it quickly became apparent something was more seriously wrong as she began suffering seizures which led to her being admitted to the Royal Stoke University Hospital for seven days.
Lisa said: "I was starting to get my feet confused in strange ways. It was nothing major and I put it down to menopausal symptoms. I had my ovaries removed as well which a cancer preventative operation and that can cause menopause.
“The week before last I had a seizure on the right side of my body, at home. I knew it was happening and I had paramedics out, they said it was potentially panic attacks.
“I had another seizure two days later and another on April 8 so I went to the Royal Stoke and stayed there for seven days. I had a CT brain scan and then I had a follow up brain MRI scan.
“They told me the news in A&E that I had got a tumour in the brain which is cancerous. They have deduced that it is secondary breast cancer that’s travelled to the brain.
“I had a seizure when I got the news. There was complete devastation, it was the thought of facing it all again with this added caveat of it being incurable.”
Following the shock diagnosis, Lisa is now on anti-seizure drugs and steroids among other medications. She’s awaiting a transfer to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, for stereotactic radiotherapy treatment.
With the cancer being terminal, Lisa wants to create memories with her family. A GoFundMe page set up to help the family go on holidays raised £10,000 in a day.
She added: “Although I’ve been told I’ve got an incurable cancer, it is treatable as long as the universe allows. There is no cancer elsewhere in my body so I am taking a positive from that as well.
“I am physically exhausted. When I was first diagnosed I had pain in my shoulder and tennis elbow but I felt well and was going out with the kids. This time round I feel unwell and that’s what I am struggling with.
“I am dealing with a chronic illness. I am being realistic and I know what the prognosis is but at the same time I feel as a patient, there is nobody else like me so I will do everything I can alongside your standard treatments to make myself healthy and take a holistic approach again, and hope for the best.
“My children are my main motivation and the fact that I’ve got such a massive support network. I feel like my community has helped me reach so far and wide and I don’t want to let them down.
“What’s happened to me is what nobody wants to happen. I do feel a sense of responsibility to those people to show them that I can still live with cancer. Even though I can’t be cured I can still live with it for as long as possible. I want to give other people the motivation to make the most out of their lives regardless of what their circumstances are.”
Lisa said: “I give my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to everyone who has supported me. It’s blown me away. Even though I have been given this horrific news, I feel like I’ve never felt so lucky because I feel so loved by everybody. It’s brought so many realizations to the forefront of my mind and what’s really important.
“I thought I’d be thinking of all the holidays I won’t be able to go on but it’s not like that, I just want to be here to put my children to bed and see my little boys start high school. That’s what is important.
“We are fundraising to be able to take the children on holiday and make memories with them for as long as I am here. We want to do the superhero summer at Disneyland Paris.
“Me and Jord want to go on a little retreat together somewhere to reset. We are also going to use it to explore other integrated therapies alongside conventional medicine because I do think there is a call out there - holistically it can help to reset my immune system.
“Having that time to bond with my family is integral in making sure they know what kind of a person I am as a mother. Especially for Ace, I want him to have memories and not just reminders.
“When you are living with incurable cancer your life is in three month instalments and you are between scans. It’s been a really tough pill to swallow and accept that help but I would do the same for anybody facing what I am.
“The outreach has been phenomenal. It restores your faith in humanity and shows the kindness of strangers.
“All the staff at the Royal Stoke treated me with such phenomenal care and really looked after me. They understood what I was going through. My husband’s birthday was while I was in hospital and they let the boys come up and visit me, the care I have received has been unbelievable.”
Support the fundraising appeal here.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
