Birtmingham mum 30, with stage four bowel cancer is fundraising for £2k-a-month treatment 

A mum who has been issued a death sentence after her heartburn turned out to be stage 4 bowel cancer like ‘Bowel Babe’ Dame Deborah James is fundraising for £2,000-a-month treatment to buy some time with her children. 

Amie Walton, 30, from Birmingham, said she’s desperate to see her son Harry, eight, and daughter, Mia, six, grow up ‘even just a little.’

When the ‘fit and healthy’ catering assistant suddenly felt a shooting pain in both shoulders in September 2020, she dismissed it as fatigue from playing with her kids.

But just 12 hours after arriving at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, alongside her fiancé, Chris Mills, 43, she was given the heart-breaking news that she had cancer.

Unfortunately the had spread to her liver and, despite braving eight rounds of chemotherapy, her prognosis is now terminal.

Amie, who also has more than 100 tumours in her lungs, is now desperate to raise enough money to fund palliative chemo to prolong her life.

She said: ‘I want to spend more time with my kids. I’ve learned to treasure everything, even just sitting in the living room with my family.

The mum of two admitted she wants to buy her time to see her two children, Harry, eight, and Mia, six, grow up ‘even just a little’ (pictured with her husband Chris Mills, 43) 

Amie, pictured during treatment, wants to have palliative chemotherapy in the hope of prolonging her life  

 She revealed on Christmases and birthdays she always has to question if it’s going to be her last one

‘Christmases, birthdays. I always have to question if it’s going to be my last one.

‘I do everything to make sure my kids never see me cry. But when I do, it’s like they know because they’ll come and find me.

‘Having palliative chemotherapy would mean the world to me. I used to be desperate for a cure, but now I just want to keep the cancer at bay and to give myself a few more years.

‘As long as I can get more time with my children, even just a little more. It’s not fair on them. They shouldn’t have seen what they have seen.

Amie said she wants to spend more time with her kids and she’s learned to treasure everything, even just ‘sitting in the living room with my family’

‘I don’t want to die. I want to be here for all their milestones. Whenever I hold my children, I feel so proud of them, I just want to cry.’

Palliative treatment is typically used to improve quality of life when no cure is available and Amie said having palliative chemo would prove to her little ones what she is always telling them that, ‘Mummy will never give up.’

She said: ‘Seeing me so unwell is tough. I’m only 30. I’m usually running around in the park with them and now I can’t even move out of bed.

‘I told them I’m ill, and I told them I go to hospital because of the nasty medicine, but it will help me.

‘I’m just trying to be positive, as much as I can be. I say I’ll keep fighting, ‘Mummy will never give up.”

Amie, who also has more than 100 tumours in her lungs, is now desperate to raise enough money to fund palliative chemo to prolong her life

Amie had never had any health issues before September 2020, when she began to suffer from heartburn, although she thought little of it at first

Amie had never had any health issues before September 2020, when she began to suffer from heartburn, although she thought little of it at first.

But, after speaking to her GP, who suspected she could have a blood clot, she was rushed to hospital for tests.

Her momentary relief when she was told there was no clot quickly became a nightmare, when medics revealed she had a tumour the size of a pea on the right side of her colon, which had spread to her liver.

She said having palliative chemotherapy ‘would mean the world’ to her. as she used to be desperate for a cure, but now she just wants to keep the cancer at bay (pictured with her husband Chris)

Amie revealed all she cares about is her children and she wants them to see her as their mum, who ‘was always there for them’

She said: ‘I didn’t expect anything, I wasn’t worried at all when I went into hospital. Nothing clicked. No one in my family has ever had cancer.

‘When I was diagnosed with stage 4, I just went completely blank. I was so distraught. It all happened so quickly.’

Her condition was so serious that within a week, Amie was put on aggressive chemotherapy treatment that made her hypersensitive to cold, meaning she could not even touch her children’s hands if they were not warm enough.

But there was good news in April 2021 when she was told the chemotherapy had been successful and she was eligible for surgery to remove 60 per cent of her liver.

In December, Amie’s partner of nine years Chris (pictured)  proposed, but she wants to get married to the love of her life on her own terms

Her best friend corporate security worker Jess Davies, 30, (right) launched a fundraising drive which reached £50k in just eight days and gave her a fighting chance

Amie’s best friend Jess raised the money after the private care was not available on the NHS and cost £35k privately

Amie, who had six tumours on the left side of her liver and 15 on the right, said: ‘I was terrified, I thought I was going to die. I’m so young and I was fit and healthy, so it was a massive shock.

‘But the chemo was miraculous. We were told I had a small chance for it to be successful, but it worked. My liver went from being like that of an alcoholic to being completely normal.’

In April 2021, Amie had surgery at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which shrank her tumours by 90 per cent – reducing them from the size of oranges to that of grapes.

But, sadly, after the five-hour procedure, they found two more tumours in the liver and Amie was once again forced to have three additional months of chemotherapy in June 2021, in a desperate bid to save her life.

She added: ‘It broke my heart, but I still clung on to hope.’

In November, Amie was told the chemotherapy had not worked and her only option was selective internal radiotherapy treatment (SIRT), where tiny radioactive beads are injected into the artery which supplies the cancer.

Costing £35k privately and not available to her on the NHS, her best friend corporate security worker Jess Davies, 30, launched a fundraising drive which reached £50k in just eight days and gave her a fighting chance.

Amie just want to live long enough to see her kids grow up to be a little older and she says dying scares her 

She said: ‘It’s been a proper emotional rollercoaster.

‘We’ve gone from bad news to good news, to having hope and then, within the week, having our optimism dashed and crashing back down to earth.

‘The SIRT worked almost immediately. It gave me so much hope.

‘But it only has a shelf life of about six months.’

In December, Amie’s partner of nine years Chris proposed, but she wants to get married to the love of her life on her own terms.

She said: ‘My partner proposed last Christmas, but in my mind it feels like it’s final and we’re getting married because I’m dying, which scares me.

‘I want to do it on my own terms.’

While Amie was recovering from the treatment in March this year, she was dealt another cruel blow, as her hopes of having a liver resection – the removal of part of the liver during an operation – were crushed when tests revealed she had more than 50 tumours in each lung.

Amie, who also battled deadly sepsis – a life threatening reaction to infection – last month, said: ‘This has all happened from a tiny tumour in my bowel. It caused all of this.

While Amie was recovering from the treatment in March this year, she was dealt another cruel blow, as her hopes of having a liver resection – the removal of part of the liver during an operation – were crushed when tests revealed she had more than 50 tumours in each lung

‘And now there are too many to operate.

‘I just wanted to curl into a ball. It feels like I’m living in a nightmare and I want to wake up.’

Amie still can’t believe what she has been forced to endure in the past 18 months.

She had no idea what bowel cancer really was until she followed Deborah James’ story on social media.

She said: ‘The unit where I receive treatment in the hospital is next to where the babies are and I always say that’s where I should be, not on the cancer ward.

‘This has just been surreal. I can’t believe it at times, I’m so young.

‘Especially the days I don’t feel so bad. I just don’t really understand how I have cancer.’

‘Even nurses have cried when they’ve seen me and they see the most horrible things every day.

‘I’m a young mum with young children. I shouldn’t be in and out of hospital wondering how long I have left.’

But Amie is trying to stay positive and is now determined to do all she can to prolong her life, so she can be a mum to her children for that bit longer.

She said: ‘All I care about is my children and my fiancé. I still want my children to see me as their mum, who was always there for them.

‘The toughest days are when I miss important things for them, because I’m ill or having treatment. My daughter had her first play and I wasn’t able to be there, which was really sad.

‘These are the moments as a parent when you need to be there, as it’s so important to your children.

‘This palliative chemotherapy would mean I could be there for them for longer.’

It has been heart-breaking for Chris to watch the woman he loves go through hell, but he is extremely proud of the dignity with which she has faced such devastating news.

He said: ‘I feel really numb. I even had to spend time in hospital, as I was vomiting because of all of the stress.

‘We had options before, but now they’re running out.

‘Our oncologist started talking to us about wills, which was just something I didn’t think we would ever be talking about.

‘But I’m so proud of Amie. She’s been incredible, after going through the most horrendous time and does everything she can for our children.’

You can donate to Amie’s fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/prolong-amies-life?qid=be0f6557901fba93c0b44e114ee9f100

It has been heart-breaking for Chris to watch the woman he loves go through hell, but he is extremely proud of the dignity with which she has faced such devastating news but the family will spend as much time together having fun for as long as they can