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.
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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’.
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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.
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“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.
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“Thank you, Rach, David and Indie x”
You can donate towards Rachel’s immunotherapy treatment at GoFundMe here.
Featured image: GoFundMe
Cheshire
Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Chester Zoo’s popular FREE Nature Fest returns this weekend with its biggest event yet
Emily Sergeant
A free festival helping people connect to nature is returning for its 10th anniversary, and organisers say it will be their biggest event yet.
Nature Fest is returning to Chester Zoo this weekend, and is set to explore the relationship between nature and wellbeing, with lots of new activities designed to help festivalgoers experience the benefits of connecting with the natural world
Around 4,000 people, and lots of families, are expected to attend across the weekend.
Visitors can take part in animal yoga sessions, relax in a zen den, and explore an interactive nature adventure based around the five pathways to nature connection, traveling along tunnels and through a tree along the way.
There will also be live music, puppetry, crafts, workshops and talks, alongside opportunities to discover how conservationists work to protect wildlife.
Chester Zoo’s popular Nature Fest returns this weekend with its biggest event yet / Credit: Chester Zoo
On top of that, the festival will feature stands from various nature organisations and community groups across the North West, talks and tips from nature professionals, and wildlife-friendly gardening sessions with the zoo’s schools team.
Chester Zoo has also teamed up with Outside Lives Ltd on the festival, giving visitors the chance to take part in other activities like crazy golf, den building, and willow weaving.
“We’re hoping our 10th Nature Fest will be the biggest yet,” commented Chris Ablett, who is the Community Volunteer Assistant Manager at Chester Zoo.
“Chester Zoo is well known for supporting conservation across the world but protecting nature here in the UK is just as important.
“We want people to know there are simple things they can do to help wildlife at home, and Nature Fest is a great way to link up with people and learn new skills you can put into practice in your community, all while enjoying a great day out.”
Chester Zoo’s Nature Fest returns for 2026 this weekend on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. It’s free to attend, parking is also free, and no booking is required.
Daisy Jackson -
27th December 2021 
