A FUNDING appeal to help a Chester village mum of three with an aggressive cancer has got off to a flying start.

About £25,000 has been raised for Jennie Walsh within just the first few days of the funding appeal's launch.

The money raised is to help Jennie and her children – Isabella, 16, Joseph, 14 and Bethany, 10 – create precious memories together, while exploring options for cancer treatments.

Prior to falling ill, Jennie, 36, from Farndon, had been a carer and was on a nursing course.

In 2015, she went for a regular smear test which came back abnormal. Further investigation revealed small cancerous cells which were successfully removed. From then on, Jennie had regular smear tests and check-ups with the gynaecology clinic, and received the all-clear.

But in March 2020, Jennie was suffering with severe abdominal pain.

Writing on her GoFundMe page, she said: "I was given an ultrasound which discovered I had a cyst on my ovaries. Doctors thought this wouldn't cause me so much pain as it was only small.

"So from March to September I was in so much pain it had a huge impact on my life, and I wasn't able to work as much or do normal day to day things that I could always do.

"In July 2020, gynaecology discharged me saying there was nothing they could do as it wasn’t their department. 

"By September 2020, I went for my ultrasound where they discovered the fluid on my kidney wasn't draining. The sonographer referred this to the urologist.

"I was booked in for a CT scan to discover a mass in my pelvis. I was then referred back to the gynaecology department.

"From then I had MRI scan, PET CT scan which confirmed it was cervical cancer recurrence from 2015. The mass is on my tubes from my kidney to the bladder which caused kidney failure.

"In November, I had surgery to fit a stent/nephrostomy bag and I had a biopsy on the mass. The stent and nephrostomy was a success and the nephrostomy bag was removed in December, the biopsy confirmed it was cancer.

"I sat down with my consultant to discuss a treatment plan. Surgery and radiotherapy were not a option at this time as the cancer is on a major artery. They planned six rounds of chemotherapy with a CT scan in between.

On February 9, 2021, I had my CT scan, after three rounds of chemo, and got the results two days later.

"The chemotherapy wasn't working and the cancer has now spread to my liver and lungs, not the news I expected and devastating.

"I wasn't given a good prognosis, but I am not giving up yet! I still have one hell of a fight in me.

"Although chemotherapy has stopped I'm looking at trials and other treatments. So I'm now concentrating on that and making memories with my beautiful family."

It is hoped one of the ways the family will be able to create special memories is by going on holiday in the UK soon, once lockdown has eased.

The funding page was set up by Jennie's cousin, Denise Richardson, who was not expecting such a positive response from the community.

She said: "I personally can’t thank people enough for the love and support they have shown since hearing of Jennie’s story. It’s been overwhelming to say the least. "