A CONCERNED dad has turned to the web in a bid to clear his daughter's debt after she twice battled cervical cancer.

Ian Gilmer set up a crowdfunding page after a year of treatment left his Peebles-based daughter and her husband struggling to pay the bills.

Sara Lundy was first diagnosed with cervical cancer back in 2018.

And then she faced invasive treatment all over again after the disease returned the following year.

The mum-of-two's stays in hospital and extended absence from work left the family spiralling into debt.

Although the 37-year-old is now in recovery for a second time, the bank balance is still critical - forcing Sara to consider returning to work early, against her doctor's advice.

Ian explained: "Without funding, Sara not returning to work until January is not a feasible option.

"The extra costs keep adding up. There are changes we want to make in the house to make things easier for her, like adding a downstairs loo.

"Putting her back to work too soon will only add to her trauma."

At the time of publication, the family's donation page has raised £2,115 of their £20,000 target.

Ian expressed his gratitude to those who have already donated: "I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far. We have raised just over two thousand pounds already.

"Sara is recovering well but still can't do much around the house. She is exhausted! The kids help where they can and her husband, Robert, is trying to keep on top of things but he works long hours in a very physical job.

"If anyone would like to help them then please donate."

During this time, Sara is also awaiting a conclusion of a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application.

When cervical cancer returns after undergoing treatments like chemotherapy the only surgical option is a pelvic exenteration. This is a major surgery which removes everything which can be found in the pelvic cavity: the cervix, vagina, womb, ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder and rectum.

Sara's surgery was in June, she then spent the rest of her summer in hospital recovering after facing complications and infections. She has now been left with two stoma bags, which come with their own difficulties.

Ian said, "The two stoma come with their normal complications.

"The house has to be constantly cleaned as the risk of infection for Sara is particularly high.

"Doing the school drop-off and pick-up can be really tiring and difficult for her too.

As Sara's husband Robert works full time, there was no one around to care for their two children. Ian and his wife Caroline took on this role, allowing Robert to continue work.

Prior to her diagnosis Sara had three different smear tests. Her first which came up with abnormalities was four years ago, her following test showed abnormalities, her third test came back clear. All of these result meant Sara was promised a referral to an oncologist but never received any further contact or information about this new appointment. After the third test reading clear, she assumed this was the last word on the matter.

"She was always vigilant," explains Ian. "She always went for her check ups."

The family had looked into taking action on the grounds of medical negligence, bust as Sara's original GP had retired and it was found that her doctors notes were mostly incomplete, and due to Sara still feeling weak, the case was dropped.

Ian continued, "Personally, you'd think that anything abnormal would be checked."

Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/aj9xcg-help-sara-heal