A Cheshire mum who has been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer has launched a fundraising campaign to fund new treatment.
Rachel Coram, 27, is hoping to undergo immunotherapy treatment that could give her the ‘greatest timeframe’ to spend with her family.
The mum of one says she recently received the ‘devastating news’ that the drugs company won’t fund the treatment for her – leaving her to raise the £100,000 cost herself.
She has now launched a GoFund Me campaign, named Unique Sense of Tumour, which has already raised more than £60,000 at the time of writing.
Rachel, from Poynton, says that ‘time has started to tick a little faster’ in the year since she was diagnosed with Advanced Sclerosing Fibromixoid Sarcoma.
She was told that tumours had been found in her spine, breast, stomach, knee, neck, liver and lungs on Christmas Eve last year, Cheshire Live reports.
Rachel says she’s one of the only people in the UK with her type of Sarcoma cancer, meaning the treatment options available ‘haven’t changed in the last 40 years’.
In her fundraising campaign, she writes: “As most of you will know I’m Rach. I was diagnosed with Advanced Sclerosing Fibromixoid Sarcoma in Dec 2020.
“I never wanted a ‘diagnosis time frame’ as I have always tried to as positive as possible… it’s nearly been a year of different types of treatments and medicines and time has started to tick a little faster.
“Sarcomas are so rare that treatment options for them haven’t changed in the last 40 years! My oncologist has explained to me many times that the chemotherapy options available won’t be very successful for my type of Sarcoma, however there is the option to try Immunotherapy.
“He has had the discussion with the Royal Marsden and they have seen some positive results with this line of treatment.
“I however, recently received the devastating news that the drugs company will not fund immunotherapy as a treatment option for me.
“They have said that there are alternative (cheaper) routes I could explore first… When we all know those options won’t be as successful or give me the greatest timeframe & I obviously want a lifetime and more with my little family. The treatment to self fund is £100,000.
“I would be so forever grateful for any kind of help or donation to try get us to this goal & allow me to try this treatment to give me as long as I can or you never know, maybe even cure me.
“Thank you, Rach, David and Indie x”
You can donate towards Rachel’s immunotherapy treatment at GoFundMe here.
Featured image: GoFundMe
Cheshire
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
Cheshire
Man who calls himself ‘Kardashian of Cheshire’ pleads guilty to £200k handbag fraud scam
Emily Sergeant
A man who refers to himself as Cheshire’s very-own Kardashian has pleaded guilty to fraud and theft.
Cheshire Police explained how Jack Watkin, formerly of Wilmslow Road, in the affluent Cheshire suburb of Alderley Edge, funded his fantasy Instagram influencer lifestyle by defrauding businesses and individuals to a total value of more than £200,000.
The 26-year-old appeared at Chester Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 24 June), where he pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud by false representation.
The court heard how Watkin used the lure of well-known designer handbag brand, Hermes, as a ruse to trick people into giving him the money he needed to afford his extravagant lifestyle, as these sought-after handbags can’t be purchased over the counter, and instead, shoppers must be specially invited to buy one.
This therefore makes Hermes bags a lucrative investment, as the resale value of them can be much higher than the original price.
Jack Watkin has pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud / Credit: Cheshire Police
The victims were told by Watkin that he had the contacts that could give them access to the handbags and that they could split the profits made on resale, so they proceeded to hand over their money in good faith.
But when no bag or sign of any money from the investment opportunity showed itself, they would begin to ask for their money back… and it was at this point they encountered his excuses.
A police investigation was launched after one victim contacted the Metropolitan Police back in 2022 when she became suspicious of Watkin’s continued excuses, and the case was subsequently referred to Cheshire Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit.
Their enquiries unearthed a string of victims and a ‘breathtaking’ amount of luxury goods and hotel bills, all of which Watkin afforded by ‘swindling’ his six victims.
During the investigation, detectives also found indecent images on his mobile phone, which he has already been found guilty of at a previous hearing.
“Watkin deluded himself that he was a successful rich kid influencer,” explained Detective Constable Gareth Yates, of Cheshire Constabulary ECU.
“But in reality, he was stealing money from wealthy individuals under the guise of ‘business opportunities’ to fund his expensive habit of fast cars, luxury goods, and designer footwear and clothing.
“It was never going to end well, and his downfall was inevitable.
“Eventually his lies caught up with him and he is now facing the consequences of his deceit, and his perversions.”
Watkin has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced for the fraud and indecent images offences on Wednesday 3 September at Chester Crown Court.
Daisy Jackson -
27th December 2021 
