A young woman, Alexandra Angeles Caycho, has been given just days to live after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. The 21-year-old initially believed the pain in her back and knees was due to a rugby injury. However, her health rapidly declined, leading to a devastating diagnosis.
Alex, a former art and design student at Lancaster University, first noticed the pain in February 2023. Despite the discomfort, she attributed it to her active lifestyle, told LiverpoolEcho reports. “I had a lot of pain but I played rugby at the time so thought I had just injured myself, but it never went away,” Alex recalled. Her symptoms worsened, and she soon found herself vomiting and with jaundice. After being taken to A&E, doctors initially suspected a liver issue.
In June, Alex was hospitalized for eight weeks as her condition deteriorated further. She experienced a range of alarming symptoms, including vomiting blood and severe stomach pain. Despite various treatments, her condition did not improve. Eventually, doctors diagnosed her with stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver. “It was a big shock to all of us,” Alex said. “All the signs pointed to cancer, but because this type of cancer is so rare in young people, the doctors were arguing with each other saying it wasn’t possible for me to have it, yet here I am, facing a battle that no one should ever have to fight.”
After undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Alex was discharged to spend time at home with her mother, Linda, and her boyfriend, Dylan. However, the cancer’s progression led to internal bleeding, and doctors informed her that she had only days to weeks left to live. “I’ve tried to stay strong and to keep fighting with everything I have, but unfortunately my journey is coming to an end,” Alex shared. “I’m too tired most days to do anything; I suffer with swelling, the swelling has got so bad I have gained ten kilos of fluid and my body is too weak to deal with that immense weight gain.”
As her condition worsens, Alex’s wish is to return to her native Peru to spend her final moments surrounded by her father, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The cost of an air ambulance to Peru is approximately £150,000, a sum that her family cannot afford. “I have my mum and partner here with me who have been a big support, they are doing everything possible to get me back home. But, Peru is where all my family lives,” she said. Her boyfriend Dylan and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for the journey.
Dylan described the situation as “scary,” saying, “It feels like a pit in my stomach, it’s overwhelming and there is so much going on, especially being so young.” Alex’s mother, Linda, added, “We are trying to be OK, it has been so overwhelming and we are trying to take her back home but it’s challenging arranging everything.”
As Alex’s time draws near, her family and friends are doing everything they can to fulfill her final wish of returning to the place where she feels most at peace.