Fundraiser set up for young woman forced to close business after skin cancer diagnosis

A Galway woman was forced to close down her business after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time.

Sheree McLaughlin has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time, at age 33.

For the past 12 years, Sheree has been fighting a complex gynaecological and colorectal pre-cancerous condition and has had over ten surgeries to manage it.

In 2016, Sheree was told she had developed invasive cancer and endured a “life-changing vulvectomy”.

The young woman, who is known for her love for dogs, has shown resilience “regardless of the hardships life throws at her”.

After another round of scans and biopsies, Sheree was recently told she had stage 2 invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

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To give her “the best fighting chance”, a family friend has set up a GoFundMe campaign.

“Her resilience and strength shows no boundaries, regardless of the hardships life throws at her. In recent years, she opened her amazing business KraftyK9 and has also become an active and treasured member of the Canicross community,” read a note written by organiser, Paula Comerford.

“Sadly, Sheree recently received another blow. Another round of scans and biopsies revealed a second cancer diagnosis of stage 2 invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma. The standard course of treatment is 6 weeks of gruelling Chemoradiation, or else a very consequential surgery to remove part of her bowel & anus, resulting in a permanent colostomy. An absolutely devastating outcome that has really taken its toll on her and has been extremely difficult to come to terms with.”

Shereen is now on a very strict diet and takes natural medicine to boost her immune system.

“Sheree approaches life quite holistically and she believes she needs to do everything she possibly can to give her body the best fighting chance against cancer, once and for all. She’s now on a very strict, fully organic, locally sourced diet alongside natural medicine & supplements proven to boost the immune system and contain cancer fighting properties.

Her monthly outgoings for these natural treatments and healthy diet alone are already costing over €800. These are not covered by our health system and is completely unsustainable. We also hope to purchase a Hydrogen Water Machine for her home.

We need to give Sheree the best fighting chance, or it’s suspected her cancer will be terminal in just 1-2 short years.

“Sheree also had to make the extremely difficult overnight decision to temporarily close her business. As you can imagine, this is having a serious impact on her financially,” he said.

You can donate to the fundraiser here.