More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
More than £60,000 has been raised to help fund life-prolonging treatment for a "phenomenal" young mum whose cancer screenings were delayed to safely deliver her third child.
Nicola Biddiscombe, from Gravesend, was diagnosed with stage three triple negative breast cancer in April.
Nicola was diagnosed while pregnant and had to delay some treatments to safely deliver her daughter
The 34-year-old, who works as a care worker at Gravesham Community Hospital, was heavily pregnant with her third child at the time.
Due to the aggressiveness of the cancer, chemotherapy was started immediately.
However, the late stage of her pregnancy meant early treatment and further investigations into Nicola's condition had to be delayed to protect their then unborn baby.
Since the birth of daughter Jasmine, the cancer has now spread to her lungs, skin and liver and is now terminal.
"At the moment the chemo is not working," explained partner Todd Miller, who is father to the couple's two other children, Delilah, six, and Rudi, two.
"We are going to try one more round with a different drug but are not very hopeful," said the 37-year-old.
"If it starts to get more aggressive we don't know how long we have got."
With Nicola's chemo plan faltering, the family are now looking to the USA for potential life prolonging treatments but they are expensive and cost upwards of £200,000.
"It is a long road back," added Todd. "We are now stuck, there is no chance unless we can get her alternative medicine abroad because the NHS can't give us any more than they can."
To add to the couple's woes, Todd was involved in a motorbike accident just weeks before Nicola's diagnosis which left him with a shattered pelvis.
He was unable to weight-bare for up to three months and was initially confined to a wheelchair.
It meant the self-employed plasterer faced a sudden loss of income at a time the family needed it most.
Fortunately, he recovered to spring into action when Nicola went into labour last month in the hallway of their home off Valley Drive.
But the dad-of-three says the last few months have been particularly hard on their oldest daughter.
"As a little girl she doesn't fully understand what is going on," he said.
"She just thinks mum is cutting off her hair out of preference."
He went on to praise Nicola for her bravery and spirit in the face of her diagnosis, describing her as a "phenomenal" mum and partner.
"She is amazing, she is soldiering on and I'm doing everything I can," said Todd.
"We are still getting out and taking the kids to the park. And I'm taking Rudi to nursery a couple of times a week."
The cancer diagnosis came as a huge shock to the pair, who don't drink or smoke and who otherwise had a clean bill of health.
Todd explained how his partner had gone to the doctors after discovering a lump.
"Unfortunately, they said it does not look good and it came back cancer," he said.
She has since switched to an alkaline-based diet consisting of lots of "boring foods" in a bid to help her body, he added.
However, the couple's recent move back to Gravesend has provided some relief after briefly living in Coxheath, near Maidstone.
The pair had purchased a downstairs bungalow off Valley Drive and intended to use their savings to refurbish it.
But with Todd's earnings temporarily diminished and Nicola requiring urgent treatment, those plans have been shelved.
Friends and family have created a JustGiving page to help support the family and fund life-prolonging treatment for Nicola, costing up to £250,000.
So far more than £66,000 has been raised in four days.
Todd described the flood of donations as "overwhelmingly kind" and said he was "struggling for any words".
The plasterer explained they were initially reluctant to accept any help, adding how they always "muddle through" but now felt they had no choice.
"We don't have any options, we need outside help," he added.
To donate to the fundraiser click here.
