DURING the coronavirus lockdown there wasn't much to do.

Many took the opportunity to spring clean their homes – including mum-of-three Maria Barry.

The 58-year-old had started to use a new cleaning product and thought her itchy and cracked hands were just down to the chemicals.

But just two years later, Maria was sadly diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.

There are around 1,000 new cases of bile duct cancer in the UK each year -treatment is costly and not always available on the NHS.

Without the £16,500 a-month treatment, Maria could have just three to six months to live.

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She said: "The gene therapy treatment that I need isn’t available on the NHS and costs £16,500 a month privately, so we are desperately trying to raise money using a GoFundMe page.

“Anything that we can get will go towards saving my life. My kids all live at home with me and I don’t have grandchildren yet. I’m not ready to die, I’m fighting to live.”

The children's nursery manager has recalled when her issues first started and said the only other health issue she'd had, was gallstones.

She explained: "During lockdown, I developed a condition where my hands cracked up and I had to wear gloves. I'd initially thought it was a reaction to a new cleaning product I'd bought to clean the cooker.

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"They were so itchy and I was getting aches and pains in my elbows, joints, everywhere, and I was constantly on the phone with the doctor."

Due to restrictions in place, Maria was unable to get a face-to-face appointment.

She had to send her GP photos of her skin and over the next year – was prescribed various creams – but to no avail.

Eventually she was referred to a dermatologist, who also suggested she use different medication.

But Maria knew something wasn't right and she demanded a CT scan.

It was Christmas Eve of 2021 that Maria had to go and pick up her results.

She took with her grown-up children Nico, who is not working,  Luca, a salesman, and Nadia, a football centre manager, for support as she feared the worst.

She said: “The news just completely shocked me. The doctors suspected I had a rare cancer and would need to undergo a biopsy.

“I was devastated and it completely ruined our Christmas. The entire time, I just kept worrying about what was to come.”

After New Year she had three biopsies that all came bake inconclusive and after the fourth, it came back that she had something malignant.

What is bile duct cancer and what are the signs you need to know?

The bile ducts are small tubes that connect different organs.

Bile duct cancer is also referred to as cholangiocarcinoma and is found anywhere in the bile duct.

It might not have any symptoms and can sometimes be hard to spot.

Some of the symptoms include:

• your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow (jaundice), you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual
• loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
• feeling generally unwell
• feeling tired or having no energy
• a high temperature, or you feel hot or shivery

You might also experience issues with your stomach such as feeling or being sick or pain in your tummy.

It was so rare, that doctors said they needed to run further tests to find out what type of cancer it was.

Then in April this year, she was given her bile duct cancer diagnosis.

The cancer starts in the bile duct and, in Maria's case, after lying dormant for years, had now spread to her liver.

She added: "Doctors confirmed I had a 9cm mass known as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and I was offered chemotherapy which started in May.”

Sadly, Maria struggled to cope with the treatment.

She said: “I was so fatigued and sick that the doctors decided to put me on chemo rest, which I’m still on at the minute, because it was getting to the point where I thought the chemo was going to kill me.”

No longer on the treatment, Maria was given just three to six months to live.

The family are now desperately trying to find alternative treatment.

Unlike traditional chemotherapy, gene therapy only targets the cancer during treatment.

This means there are fewer side effects – and Maria believes this is what she would most benefit from.

It's not available on the NHS, and Maria said it could be her only chance of survival.

She has so far raised enough money for one round of treatment and is hoping it will improve her quality of life.

But as it costs £16,500, Maria said she doesn't know what she will do once the money runs out.

“We managed to raise enough money for July’s medication and we’ve nearly reached our target for next month’s, but what are we going to do after that?

“If we don’t have enough money, am I just supposed to die?

“It feels so unfair and I’m struggling to come to terms with it, how money is standing in the way between me and the treatment I need to live.

“I don’t want to leave my kids, I’m not ready to go.”

Her daughter Nadia said he mum had dedicated her life to others and says she will 'do anything to save her."

She added: "As a working class family, we can’t afford to keep up with the £16,500 bill every month. which will be around £170,000 for the year.

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“We know times are tough and we appreciate any help we receive.

“I’m going to fight for my mum.”

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