Friends of a Heathfield mum who is battling stage four cancer have set up a fundraiser in aid of her and her young family which has gone on to raise an incredible £16,500.
Rebecca Broughton, 26, was diagnosed with cancer last year while pregnant with her second child, Rory, nine months, brother to Joseph, two.
She began treatment in December before giving birth in January.
Following her diagnosis, Rebecca, a staff nurse at Ayr Hospital, compiled a bucket list – inspiring close friend and colleague, Kelsey Scott, to set up the fundraising page to help her achieve her goals.
Since then, the fundraiser, combined with other donations, has totalled £16,500, with all monies going towards helping the local woman through her illness.
Kelsey, 25, from Prestwick, said: “She was around four months pregnant with her second boy when she found out she had cancer. She found a lump, the GP referred her for scans and she had biopsies taken. She went on to have a mastectomy in December and started treatment before having her son in January.
“They were reluctant to do scans because she was pregnant so she had a scan around April time and that’s when they told her that they’d found evidence of cancer in her lungs.
“They told her it had spread and that it was stage four. They say it’s incurable but treatable. It is terminal but they hope to better control it.”
In recent months, Kelsey and her dedicated friends, have completed sponsored walks and held bake sales.
She continued: “We speak to her about it and it’s as if it’s not her going through it, she’s so positive. It’s very emotional at times but she’s an inspiration and it’s never doom and gloom with her.
“Her two wee boys are a huge drive. She wants to be here for them as long as she can be.
“One thing on her bucket list was to sleep on a train, so people who work for the Sleeper Train got in contact and offered her a free family ticket to London.
“She also wanted to go camping around Scotland so people with camper vans were offering their vans. She wants to learn Spanish so a Spanish tutor offered her free tuition. It’s exceeded all of our expectations.”
To donate, visit https://uk.gofundme.com/f/cjkxh-raise-for-rebecca
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