A FAMILY is “desperately” trying to raise £30,000 to fund alternative cancer treatment for their sister because they “can’t imagine life without her”.

Grace Olubodun-Ogunade and her three siblings were devastated when they found out their 50-year-old sister Dekemi had kidney cancer in January this year.

Despite an operation to remove her right kidney in February, scan results in May showed that the mother-of-two’s cancer had spread to her liver, lungs and spine.

Dekemi then started taking a drug called pazopanib, but after debilitating side effects, she and her sister decided to look into alternative holistic treatments.

Grace, 51, of Westview Drive, Woodford Green said: “As a family we’re all very close, but I am particularly close to Dekemi.

“When her diagnosis came it was such a huge blow. I can’t imagine life without her, so I am trying to do everything I can to help her.

“Everyone should have a choice and she has chosen alternative treatment because she believes it will help her.”

Single mum Dekemi and her two daughters 22-year-old Seun and 18-year-old Tobi live in Swanscombe, Kent. But her brother Dele and sisters Grace, Yemi and Adi are crowdfunding for her at home in Redbridge.

They claim the alternative cancer treatment offered at a place called the Budwig Centre in Malaga, Spain is the best option for her because she “could no longer cope” with traditional drugs.

Grace said: “We know it’s not very common in this country, but after looking into alternative treatments and a very long talk, we decided to go for it.

“It was horrible seeing Dekemi when she was on the last drug.

“She told me words couldn’t describe how painful it was, to the point where even her personality started changing.

“It was so poisonous, she couldn’t cope with any more of it.”

Pazopanib is a drug used to treat advanced kidney cancer. It stops cancer cells forming the blood vessels they need to grow, but can cause side effects like dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and skin rashes.

Treatment at the Budwig Centre focuses on diet change and regulates body temperature and oxygen levels to try and kill off cancer cells.

Dekemi and her daughter Seun flew to the centre on Saturday (June 25) where she will receive a four-week course of treatment.

Grace said: “The programme costs £13,685 but with travel, accommodation and further treatment costs we desperately need the money to pay for it all.

“Dekemi is a single mum and this isn’t covered by the NHS, so she can’t afford this kind of money.

“We are a strong family and maintain a strong faith she will get better, but we really need to ask people to help us now.

“I know how much she wants to live and see her grandchildren born. This hasn’t been easy on us, but I am not one to give up on her.”

Dekemi’s fundraising campaign has already collected £13,395 in three weeks.

Cancer Research UK and The Royal College of Physicians have been contacted for comment on the use of alternative and traditional cancer treatments.

To donate, visit the GoFundMe page.

https://www.gofundme.com/DekemiHealing