'I don't want to leave my family, I don't want to die'

MUM TOLD SHE HAS 12 MONTHS TO LIVE AFTER INFECTED TOE LEADS TO RARE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

- By POPPY KENNEDY

A DEVOTED mum has been told she has 12 months to live after she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Donna Bointon had an infected toe nail for five years and was back and forth to the GP for treatment but saw no lasting improvement with antibiotics.

After countless appointments, the mum-of-two was given the devastating news last year that she had acral melanoma.

Tragically, after having her toe amputated and months of immunotherapy, medics have told the 47-year-old that the cancer is incurable. Donna has now been told she has a life expectancy of 12 months.

The melanoma is rare and forms on the palms, soles of feet, or under finger or toe nails.

"I had the toe amputated in February 2024, and I had a year of treatment," said Donna, who works as a domestic housekeeper at James Cook University Hospital.

"They found the cancer in my lymph nodes but they thought they would be able to treat it. I was offered 13 months of treatment but after 10 months, at my recent scan in February, the outcome was it had spread to three areas - my stomach, breast and lungs."