A Plymouth mum with a young family needs to raise more than £100,000 for life-saving treatment after being diagnosed with cancer and a rare autoimmune disease. In March this year, Josie Hassan was diagnosed with stage 3c metastatic melanoma after her husband Laith spotted a mole on her back had changed.
Laith, who lives in Crownhill with the 35-year-old mum and their two children, noticed the change on Josie’s back in June 2022. After tests, Josie was told it was benign – but more growths came and after months of numerous scans and biopsies, Josie was told melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, had been detected in her lymph nodes.
“We were in complete and utter shock,” Laith said. “[The doctors] expressed they were also very shocked and she was immediately referred to oncology. Ten agonising days later we met with her oncologist who diagnosed Stage 3c metastatic melanoma which had spread to her lymphatic system.”
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Laith, who has been “inseparable” from Josie for 22 years and married for 12, said while they were “completely overwhelmed and full of fear”, they wanted to retain some sort of normality for their two girls, Rebecca aged eight and Sophie, four.
Josie was put on an initial plan of four rounds of immunotherapy, but after the first week started to suffer from side effects and was hospitalised. She experienced difficulty with swallowing, breathing, vision, and was suffering with extreme swelling and fatigue.
She was later diagnosed with a condition called myasthenia gravis, a neurological autoimmune disease that affects the nerve signals and was put on a ventilator as her lungs were shutting down.
Laith added: “I met with the doctor who explained how incredibly unlucky Josie was, not only to have been recently diagnosed with advanced cancer, but now a serious autoimmune disease, with added complications because it had been induced by the treatment we hoped would cure the cancer. This is extremely rare, with only a few known cases as immunotherapy is still a relatively new treatment.”
Due to the diagnosis, Josie is unable to have immunotherapy. Laith said: “It was an extremely scary time, but the ICU team were incredible and I’m so grateful that they acted so fast – if they hadn’t, she wouldn’t have made it through that night.”
Josie’s most recent scan has shown shadowing on both lungs, but it is not known what it is yet. She is still unable to have treatment and has to wait around two months for another scan.
“Josie’s situation is becoming desperate and we have started to look further afield at options,” Laith wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We are so grateful to our amazing NHS, but we do understand that they can only offer treatments approved or financial viable.”
Laith, who is a self-employed bricklayer and is currently unable to work, has now found a treatment – tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) – which is offered in a small number of countries, including the US, Israel and Switzerland. Laith says the treatment is at trial stage in the UK and is “not an option for Josie via the NHS”.
Laith says after researching, he has found TIL is “very effective in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma”, which involves using the patient’s own cells and isolating them in a lab to grow them to large numbers. They are then injected back into the body.
“As I am sure you can imagine, I am utterly heartbroken that my wife, the mother of my young children and my best friend is going through this,” he said. “Our whole family is devastated and heartbroken, and we want to do anything we can to give her the best chance at recovery. Our girls need their mum and I need my wife. Her mum, sister and wider family need her to beat this awful disease.
“This treatment feels like our only viable option at present, but it is very expensive, over £100,000, and could never be an option for us without the help from others which is why we’ve set up this crowd funding page. I am unable to work as I am now a full time carer for Josie and our girls. We all just want this nightmare to be over.”
So far, £5,650 has been raised of a £125,000 goal. Laith explained the GoFundMe aim also includes travel costs as they would need to fly and get insurance to do so. You can donate to the fundraiser here.
Laith added: “Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time to read this far. If you are able to share and donate, it will go directly towards this potentially life saving treatment. Our aim is to help Josie prolong her life or even beat this horrible disease for good.”
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
