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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Saima Akhtar

'We're blown away': Family left stunned by Jason Manford's incredible act for mum

A woman is "blown away" after donations for her mum's cancer treatment have poured in from fans of Jason Manford.

Carla Speight, 35, started a GoFundMe page for her mum, Mandy Bond, who has been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Last year, Mandy, 56, was "at the point of crisis", having been unable to eat without feeling pain.

After being rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary and months of scans and biopsies, Mandy discovered she had a tumour that was approximately 11cm by 7cm in size.

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Two surgeries followed - one to fit a stoma and one to fix a hernia, which is common.

Doctors were worried about Mandy not being strong enough for surgery, but she underwent the operation to remove the tumour and started undergoing chemotherapy at The Christie Hospital.

However, the tumour has unfortunately now spread into Mandy's liver and doctors gave her the devastating news that she would have six months to live without any treatment.

Carla, of Urmston, told the M.E.N.: "My mum had been through loads and loads of testing. In June, she was at the point of crisis.

"She hadn’t eaten anything for the best part of a week, because every time she ate, she was in so much pain.

"She had lost a hell of a lot of weight. While she was in hospital, weight was just dropping off her.

"The doctors thought they got the tumour out, but now it's spread to her liver. So it’s been a mad 12 months.

"She is putting a brave face on, but you can tell she is worn out and she is in pain."

The family decided to opt for private treatment, which is expensive.

The private treatment that Mandy is hoping to get is called Selective Internal Radiotherapy (SIRT).

Carla started a GoFundMe page to help cover the treatment costs, scans and aftercare for her mum, whom she calls her "world".

To donate to the fundraiser, visit here or use the PayPal link here.

"Mum is having chemotherapy at The Christie, and they are trying their best," Carla explained.

"But there were options out there to pay for it privately, so we’re in a situation of, what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

"We can go and speak to a consultant, but that’s as far as our funding and resources go.

“The treatment that we are hoping she can go for is called SIRT, so they essentially inject microbeads into her liver to shrink the cancer."

And the family was 'blown away' when Jason Manford donated £1,000 to the fundraising page-

The Salford-born comedian also shared the link on his Facebook page, and donations and messages of support began pouring in.

Comedian Jason Manford (Getty Images for Bauer Media)

The donation total currently stands at £15,966.

Carla, who is employed in the entertainment industry, has worked with Jason on projects over the years.

She said Mandy and the family are "blown away" with the response from Jason and his fans.

On his Facebook page, Jason Manford encouraged his followers to donate to Mandy's fundraiser (Screenshot from Facebook)

Carla continued: "We can’t even begin to describe the words to thank people enough.

"For people to care about this and to connect with it and donate, it’s so, so kind. We had already hit about £3,000, but then Jason shared it and it went ballistic.

"The donation total jumped up straight away. Mum is hugely grateful to Jason for his generosity and for sharing the fundraising link.

"The fact that he shared it was enough for us. He massively kickstarted it in a big way.

"It's insane. Mum was absolutely floored!"

Carla added the her mum's cancer battle has been an "emotional rollercoaster" for the family.

The mum-of-two added “It’ so hard, seeing my mum this ill, because for all my life, she’s never been ill.

"It's been deeply traumatic. We have joked that it’s almost like she has saved up all her National Insurance contributions and used them like air miles, all in one go.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Mum, she has done all this with a brave face on.

"She has been to hell and back over and over again.

"And she has done it so gracefully, without complaining.

"She is the kind of woman that, even though she is going through all of this, she will still put other people first.

"Right after she had her stoma fitted, she was looking after another woman at the hospital. She was sorting out getting her a newspaper and you’re like, ‘that’s mad, you should be recovering!’

"She has kept her sense of humour throughout and it's just been inspiring."

To donate to the fundraiser, visit here or use the PayPal link here.

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