A daughter whose mum has cancer is trying to raise thousands of pounds so she can live long enough to make it to her wedding.

Sophie Fortunelli, 27, is hoping to raise £250,000 for her mum Lynn who earlier this year was given the news her cancer had returned for a third time.

Sophie, from Collington Close, Gravesend, is getting married in April next year to Chris Mutti, 28, and wants her mother to be there for her special day. Lynn, 51, said: “I want to be here. Even if I’m not fit, I’ll go. I just want to actually be here.”

Sophie said: “It’s keeping us going. A few people asked if we were going to change the date of our wedding but I said no because that’s giving up hope.

“I’m not giving up hope. Mum will be here for my wedding.”

Lynn, a mother of three, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. After successful treatment, it returned in December 2014.

She underwent more treatment, but the family were devastated when in June Lynn was told it was back and had spread to her lymph nodes.

The immunotherapy she needs is not available to her in the UK and she has had to travel to Germany for the life-saving treatment. Although the family has raised more than £65,000 since an online donation page was set up in July, Lynn has still had to remortgage her home in Belvedere to afford the treatment.

Sophie said: “I tried every hospital in London and all they could offer was conventional chemotherapy.Then I found the Hallwang clinic in Germany and they have had some great success rates. They have made a treatment plan specific to mum’s cancer so she’s not just put under the cancer umbrella.”

The drugs Lynn needs to fight the cancer are available as part of a clinical trial in the UK but there is a chance she would be given a placebo instead.

The Hallwang clinic in Germany is a private oncology clinic. Lynn has been there three times so far and was hoping to head back there this week if they could find the funds.

Sophie, who will marry at Parklands, Quendon Hall, Essex, said: “Obviously this has come to a huge cost. The testing of the tumour tissue itself was 13,000 euro.”

Although they need more money to keep the treatment going, they have been humbled by the support received so far. Sophie said: “Within a week we had more than £20,000 just from family and friends sharing it on social media.

“We can’t thank people enough. The support we’ve been receiving has been overwhelming.”

n Their GoFundme page can be found at www.gofundme.com/LynnFortunelli2016