A Ramsgate mum-of-four diagnosed with terminal cancer says she is determined to battle the disease so she can see her daughters fly the nest.

Claire Emptage, 50, had a tumour on her ovaries removed last September but in October she underwent another scan and the results – which she did not get for two months -showed the disease had returned and spread.

Her oncologist gave a life expectancy of up to one year and urged Claire to have chemotherapy, predicting treatment would give a 20% chance of reducing the cancer by up to 30%.

Claire, who is a dog trainer, instead turned to research to find out what natural remedies might help her gain a better quality of life and perhaps control the cancer.

She said: “They found a mass, a grapefruit sized tumour, on my ovaries in August and I had it removed in September. Since then I feel the cancer has started spreading under my ribs and possibly to my brain.

“The oncologist offered me chemo but it does not generally have success with this type of cancer, there is a maximum 20% chance to reduce the cancer by 30% but it will not lengthen my life.

“He was pushing me to have it and told me we would not know if it was successful for nine weeks. I asked how I would be in nine weeks and he said I’d feel like I was dying and would be very weak, I wouldn’t be able to look after myself.

“At first I agreed but then I decided I didn’t want to go through that. If it was a 50% chance then maybe but 20% doesn’t seem worth it. I’ve seen so many people with this terrible illness, they have chemo and it still comes back, it’s terrifying.”

Claire, who was a carer for her mum who recently passed from cancer,  says she has always researched and often found natural therapies to help friends and even their pets, so decided to see what she could find for herself.

She said: “My mum passed from cancer a few months before I was diagnosed. I started researching for me  but did not find the medicines I am taking until about three months ago,

“I found other versions, also from America, but they had cannabis THC in some products which meant even though mine did not have THC customs still wouldn’t let it through.

“I wasn’t on any medicines for a while and went downhill.”

Claire says she then found a product from God’s Garden Essentials which is based on herbal ingredients, including Xiaga mushrooms and various oils.

Claire tried out Stemy Terminal Support drops and Total Defense capsules and says they are making a difference to her quality of life.

She said: “Literally by the second day I started feeling less ill and less weak. After a couple of weeks I noticed a huge difference in my energy levels and pain reduction. The pain under my ribs was gone.

“It’s amazing. I don’t feel like I am dying of cancer, I have been able to do a bit of light gardening, the other day I crushed a drink can and I was able to take my dog out for a walk. I had gone to skin and bone but now I have put on some weight again.

“They help me eat a better diet. A vegan diet was suggested but I got ill and found out I was terribly allergic to soya so I carried on the vegan diet but without the soya that lacked protein. But since using the drops I can have a better balance of diet. They prevent carbs changing to glucose as sugar feeds cancer.”

Claire has four children with her 25-year-old son settled but she says she wants to be here to make sure her girls, Isabelle aged 16,Tiesha, 18 and Lauren, 23, are making the next steps in their lives.

She has been unable to work but also hopes this might change is she can build up her strength.

She said: “At the moment I could not hold onto a strong dog but if my muscles continue to build I am hoping I could get back to work.

“I miss work terribly, the social side and working with the dogs was the best move I ever made in life.”

Claire’s niece Naomi has launched a fundraising page to help with the cost of the medicines but also to pay for day to day life and perhaps days out to make family memories.

The treatments cost around £128 for the droplets per bottle – Claire uses one per week- and £120 for the capsules each month. There are also customs charges added to this.

Claire said: “I feel they are life-saving, not necessarily permanently, but I believe this gives me a chance to see my girls fly the nest and make the next steps in the next part of their lives.

“I believe it will, and does now, give me a much better quality of life. I was nearly bedridden without it and it has made such a massive difference.”

Find the fundraising page for Claire by clicking here

Cancer Research UK says there is not enough reliable scientific evidence to use herbal products as a treatment for cancer but adds that herbal medicine is one of the most used complementary and alternative therapies by people with cancer.

Find the charity’s advice at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/herbal-medicine

Ovarian cancer is when abnormal cells in the ovary begin to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. They eventually form a growth (tumour). If not caught early, cancer cells gradually grow into the surrounding tissues. They may spread to other areas of the body.

Find information and support at: https://about-cancer.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/ovarian-cancer