Family's £50k loan to pay for cancer care

Kate Colgan helped pay for Janet Colgan’s first bout of immunotherapy at the Hallwang Clinic, near Stuttgart, after the 55-year-old was given 12 months to live last September.

The former mortgage advisor, who had to quit her job after falling ill, is set to fly out again in the near future for a second round of treatment – with doctors adamant they can cure her, Kate said.

The 25-year-old, of Crofter’s Walk in Ansdell, added: “Mum and dad have cashed their pensions, I have taken a loan, and my partner had savings, and we are using that before asking for help,” she said.

“But it’s important that people support us because the cancer is starting to spread and she is starting to feel pain with it.”

Kate, a medical worker from Crofter’s Walk in Ansdell, and her family have raised almost £12,000 of their £150,000 target so far, and hope the money will help pay for Janet’s potentially life-saving treatment.

They have now organised a fundraising evening at the Glendower Hotel on the Promenade in St Annes, with Spandau Ballet star Steve Norman set to sing, while legendary comedy duo Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball are also due to perform.

“It’s good they are getting involved,” mum-of-one Kate said.

“We have sold loads of tickets already. We have a couple of tables left but that’s it.”

Kate, who works in the medical sector, ordered her mum to the doctor last March after she began to suffer from ‘very, very mild heartburn’ followed by a severe pain in her stomach, she said.

Following a series of tests, doctors broke the devastating news that Janet had stage four stomach cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes and peritoneum. Only around five per cent of people with stage four stomach cancer are expected to survive for five years.

Janet was having bouts of chemotherapy at The Christie in Manchester but it was only ‘half keeping the cancer at bay’, Kate said, whereas immunotherapy, only available in the UK for skin cancer and on clinical trials, is a ‘lot more aggressive’ and could even cure her, she added.

Tickets for the event cost £40 or £350 for a table of 10. They include a two-course meal and a drink on arrival.

A raffle and auction will offer the chance to win VIP tickets to see Take That in Manchester and other prizes, from 6.45pm on May 12.

For tickets, go to tinyurl.com/k9kht7p