Katrina Robinson wants to help son Lewis enjoy what time he has left
Katrina Robinson and her son Lewis, 23 who is autistic and is suffering from cancer(Image: ChronicleLive)
A Bedlington mum is desperate to raise money to “make memories” with her son who has a terminal cancer diagnosis. Lewis Scarth, 23, was originally diagnosed with cancer more than four years ago – but that was only after being initially told that his issue was just a “slipped disc”.
But heartbreakingly, he in fact had a rare form of cancer called an epitheloid sarcoma. This initially saw his back damaged – and he had to have invasive surgery of the spinal cord. Now though, he has been told that the cancer which had already spread to his lungs is growing – and the diagnosis is terminal.
As a result, the focus for his family is to make sure he has the best experiences in the coming weeks and months. Lewis’s mum Katrina Robinson has now set up a GoFundMe to support him.
She told ChronicleLive: “The latest scans showed that the cancer had shrunk on his ribs – that was the good news – but the cancer has also grown on his lungs, both of them.”
Katrina explained that Lewis was in good spirits, though had struggled with pneomonitis – an illness affecting his lungs – which comes as a result of his radiotherapy. She added: “The main thing he’s asked for is a hot tub in the garden!”
Katrina said that Lewis, who has autism, has retained his sense of humour and had been joking about how building work has affected the view from their front door, too. She added: “The doctors can’t give us any timescale, we’re just going from scan to scan.
“I wasn’t going to do this fundraiser but there’s not a great deal of charity support for young adults. There’s a lot for under-18s but then it stops there.
“Lewis has taken this in his stride though – and we even got a puppy, Georgie, at Christmas as he has never had a dog before.”
As previously reported by ChronicleLive, Lewis’ cancer initially contributed to a broken back and he required several surgeries and proton beam therapy. Then, to their distress, the cancer returned, and last year the family were told it was incurable.
On her crowdfunding page, Katrina added: “Lewis has been so brave through all of his treatment – of six rounds of chemotherapy, 20 sessions of radiotherapy. Unfortunately, [the cancer] has continued to grow. I just want Lewis to experience the best life he can with the limited time we have.” To see the fundraising page, click here.
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