A MUM is spending thousands a month on a “last chance” cancer treatment after six failed rounds of chemotherapy, in a bid to extend her life so she can spend precious time with her daughter. 

Rebecca Atton, 41, from Southend, was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in December, despite having “no real symptoms other than a stomach ache”. 

She is now trying an alternative treatment in the hope it will extend her life and allow her to continue making memories with her ten-year-old daughter Ava. 

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The treatment is a combination of chemotherapy and the drug Avastin, but it costs around £3,500 per month.

Rebecca has a GoFundMe page set up to try and help her get the vital funds - even if it just to spend “another four weeks” with her daughter, Ava.

She said: “For the treatment to not have worked so far is soul-destroying. I am now on my third line of treatment, meaning my options are depleting rapidly.

“My new chemotherapy and Avastin is practically my last chance. The funds are so important as they are enabling me to have a chance to spend more time with my daughter, family, and friends.

“An opportunity to make precious memories. I just wanted to be here for as long as I can, it is less than a year since my diagnosis, and I don’t want to die, it is too soon.

“Treatment cost is shocking. If I didn’t have people fundraising for me, like so many thankfully have, I just wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Even if it is just four weeks extra of life by having it, it is four weeks extra with my daughter and family.”

Rebecca has already raised more than £25,000 of the £100,000 target set by her family and friends.

The mum was otherwise “fit and healthy” apart from a “rare stomach ache” before being told she had stage four bowel cancer.

Despite the continued uncertainty around Rebecca’s future, she is still raising awareness around bowel cancer, and continuing to campaign for the faecal immunochemical test (FIT test) age to be lowered in a bid to save lives.

A FIT test is a check to see if you could have bowel cancer - but is usually only available on the NHS to people aged 60 to 74.

They can also discover polyps in the bowel that could turn to cancer if not removed, and Rebecca’s say they can be “life-saving”.

To donate, visit https://bit.ly/3SSFQ9J