have you ever heard of


gestational trophoblastic disease? By Chelsea Mellin


Have you ever heard of Gestational trophoblastic disease? Neither had I until May 2016 when I experienced a complete molar pregnancy, another thing that was entirely new to me. Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a group of rare (often benign) tumours that involve the abnormal growth of cells inside a woman's uterus, cells that would normally develop into the placenta during pregnancy. Its most common form is a molar pregnancy, in which there is a fertilized egg but no viable foetal tissue. There are currently 150 women being treated for GTD in the U.K. at this moment in time, and I am one of them.


Terrified, scared, nervous, anxious. This is how I have felt over the last 9 months. In October 2016, when I began chemotherapy, I had to stay in London Charing Cross hospital for 6 nights, which felt more like 6 years away from my 11 month old baby daughter who I had left at home. However, I have to take my hat off to the nurses and other medical professionals who treated me on Ward 6. The effort and work they put in to make sure those in their care have a smile on their face is simply awe-inspiring. I was so impressed at how they managed to continue laughing, smiling and joking despite working such long hours, and so I've decided to give something back and raise money to help support all the cancer nurses around the UK.


My partner Dean and I will be competing against one another in a 1500m swim, in partnership with The Swimathon Foundation, on Friday 14th April 2017 in support of Marie Curie. When we first decided to take on the challenge we set ourselves a target of £300. However, within just 24 hours of our page going live, we had reached it. We have now


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increased it in order to raise as much as possible, whilst raising awareness of this cruel disease.


You can read my full story on www.justgiving.com/chelseavsdean. To donate please visit our justgiving link above or alternatively you can text 'CMDT50 £10' to 70070.


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