Leeanne Grassnick, a 42-year-old mother from South West London, initially believed her overwhelming tiredness was simply the result of new parenthood. After giving birth to her son in December 2021 and contracting Covid-19 just three days later, she experienced severe fatigue, rapid weight loss, and frequent infections. Like many new mothers, she attributed these symptoms to the challenges of recovery and sleep deprivation.
A Holiday That Changed Everything
During a family trip to Corfu in April 2022, Leeanne's condition worsened. She struggled to walk long distances and developed intense pain around her ribcage. The pain became so severe that she ended up in A&E, where liver tests showed abnormalities. Initially told to wait weeks for an ultrasound, her wife Emma Davies, 36, a doctor conducting a PhD in cancer research, insisted on earlier scans. This urgency proved critical.
“She is my lifesaver because without her I don’t think I would be here today,” Leeanne said.
The Diagnosis
Scans revealed 22 lesions on Leeanne's liver. In May 2022, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to her liver. Further tests showed she had the BRAFV600E mutation, an aggressive and fast-growing form of bowel cancer. Doctors told her the cancer was incurable and gave her just a year to live.
“I had a panic attack. I just couldn’t breathe. I felt like everything just kind of went into a daze around me. I just remember looking at my wife and she was just pale and completely speechless,” she recalled. “It was horrendous.”
Treatment and Ongoing Battle
Leeanne began chemotherapy at The Royal Marsden in London on May 21, 2022, completing six initial rounds. Since then, she has undergone more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy while continuing to live with the disease. Surgery was considered multiple times, but doctors could not remove the tumours as they had not shrunk enough during treatment.
Now, Leeanne is exploring overseas options, including treatments in Germany and the United States. One promising therapy is Histotripsy, a non-invasive procedure that uses ultrasound waves to destroy tumour cells. While Cambridge University is researching it, the treatment is more accessible in the US, where one round costs between $30,000 and $50,000.
The Emotional Toll of Motherhood
Beyond the physical impact, Leeanne says motherhood has been one of the most emotionally challenging aspects of her diagnosis. Chemotherapy prevented her from breastfeeding, and she spent long periods in hospital while her son was cared for by a nanny.
“Because of my chemotherapy I wasn’t allowed to breastfeed anymore, getting him on to the bottle was so hard – and I couldn’t spend any time with him he had to spend it with the nanny – I was just so ill and constantly in hospital,” she said. “It was a really big separation for me and him and that was really painful and traumatic.”
For much of her son’s first year, Leeanne was often too unwell to lift him. She struggled with the feeling that cancer had robbed her of the motherhood she had imagined.
“I really struggled because I felt like I wasn’t able to be the mother that I wanted to be. I was in so much pain for most of the first year that I often couldn’t lift him,” she said. “On one hand, I just wanted him close to me all the time because I wanted him to know how much I love him. But at the same time I worried that actually, is it better to die now so that he doesn’t have any emotional pain from it. As he’s gotten older, the more he’s actually become attached and understands the situation.”
Fundraising and Support
Leeanne and Emma have launched a JustGiving page to help cover the high costs of treatment and living with cancer. Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving, praised Leeanne’s resilience: “It’s impossible to fully grasp the emotional and physical weight that this diagnosis has placed on Leeanne and her family. Yet throughout it all, Leeanne’s determination and resilience have been nothing short of extraordinary. At every stage, she has continued to defy the odds time and time again.”
