Retford breast cancer patient told to 'stop begging'

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Card sent to Karen LandImage source, Karen Land
Image caption,

The card was pushed through Karen Land's letterbox

A mother-of-five with terminal cancer who is fundraising for life-extending treatment has received a hand-delivered card telling her to "stop begging".

Karen Land, 40, from Retford, has an aggressive breast cancer, and said having immunotherapy in Germany could help prolong her life.

However, a card said: "What will happen to money when there is no cure 4U?"

Ms Land said if she were to die before being treated, her supporters could decide how the money was used.

The former Nottinghamshire firefighter began fundraising after her triple negative breast cancer, external spread to her lungs and brain.

She said she became desperate for medical care to help prolong her life after "nothing" seemed to work.

Ms Land has raised about £7,000 to help pay for immunotherapy in Germany, as this treatment is not currently used to treat her type of cancer in the UK.

Image source, Karen Land
Image caption,

Ms Land returned to work after the cancer went into remission

An anonymous card which bore the message "Thinking of You" was pushed through her door.

It said inside: "Why do you still want people giving money to you?"

In response, Ms Land said on Facebook, external: "If I do die before I manage to make it to Germany, then anyone who has donated to my fund can express what they would like to happen to their donation.

"I won't apologise for trying to do everything I can to be here for as long as possible for my children."

Her mother Susan Harvey, who is taking care of the money, said she was in "disbelief".

"They have no idea how you deal with this as a family," she said. "How do you cope with a seven-year-old asking her mummy, 'are you going to die?'

"You would do anything to spend as much time as possible with your children."

Ms Land has urged the person who wrote the card to have a "face-to-face" discussion with her.

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