“I feel so blessed": Southsea baker raises over £4,000 in less than a month after cancer diagnosis

A baker who has been diagnosed with cancer has raised more than £4,000 in less than a month to support her financially through her treatment.

Katie Barnham was recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which has spread to her lymph nodes and bones, and will have to undergo multiple rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments to fight the disease.

“There are good days and bad days. The first week after chemo was pretty rough,” she said.

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As a result, she will have to step away from her role at The Tenth Hole Tea Rooms in Southsea to recover and manage any side effects of the treatments.

To support herself through this time, Ms Barnham set up a GoFundMe page on June 29, and has already raised nearly half of her £10,000 target.

“It’s honestly incredible, everyone is being so supportive,” she said. “It’s fantastic, we are almost half way there in less than four weeks.”

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To help raise money, Ms Barnham held a fundraising event at The Tenth Hole Tea Rooms, where she, alongside her boyfriend, friends and her boyfriend’s dad, all shaved their hair off.

“It was very emotional, all emotions at once,” she said of getting her head shaved.

“I mostly feel so blessed for everyone’s support.”

You can find and support Katie’s GoFundMe here.