You would think that your ex-husband's new wife probably wouldn't be your biggest cheerleader, but as it turns out they are sometimes the greatest friend you could ask for. Nicola Hitchen learned this first hand after she was diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer.
Hitchen was told in March that nothing could be done to stop the cancer, but she wanted to do everything she could to try to fight it. She had tumors in her abdomen, spine, liver and lungs, but she heard about a pioneering chemotherapy center in Turkey that might be able to help her.
The treatment wasn't cheap, it would cost £80,000 ($104k) for the first five session alone. Hitchen wouldn't be able to afford the second round, but that's when her ex-husband's new wife stepped in to help her out.
Hitchen's ex-husband Andy Hitchen, has remarried, but that doesn't mean that they weren't still family. Claire Hitchen realized that Nicola wouldn't have the money to complete the treatment but she wasn't going to let her give up.
Claire launched a massive fundraising campaign to help raise the £50,000 ($65k) needed to complete the treatment. She launched a site for people all over the world to donate to help Nicola fight her cancer. "Money is running out and Niki may not be able to continue with her life-saving treatment. This is not an option "“ the boys need their mum and she deserves the chance to watch them grow into men and have their own families."
Nicola has been incredibly grateful for Claire's efforts. She said that "getting a diagnosis like that you can respond in one of two ways. Either you accept this is what's happening and sort your affairs out "“ or you start looking at other options. The first wasn't an option for me."
The treatments have helped already. "In 10 days, I went from being on six or seven different painkillers a day to not needing any," she said. "It was amazing." But it's not the end yet.
They have already raised over £20,420 (over $25k) but they are still working their way to their goal. The family said that "It's brought us all even closer together. The support I've been given has been phenomenal, not just from my family but from complete strangers too."
If you are able to donate you can head over to their webpage and help out as much as you can.
