Terminally-ill student with 'almost impossible' cancer fundraising to fly home for final days

  • ITV Granada Reports journalist Victoria Grimes spoke to Alex, who is terminally ill, and is in a desperate race against time to see her family in Peru, before it's too late

A student given days to live after being diagnosed with a cancer “almost impossible" to get at her age is fundraising to fly home to her family.

Alex Angeles Caycho, from Lancaster, initially thought she had been hurt playing sports but was later found to have pancreatic cancer.

The 21-year-old, whose disease is now terminal, wants to spend what little time she has left with loved ones in South America.

She told ITV News: "Going to Peru is everything for me. You don’t know how long you have.

"But my spirit is going to fight until I get [there]. I’m not leaving until I get to Peru."

Alex Angeles Caycho spoke to ITV Granada Reports from her hospital bed

Alex, who moved from Peru to study art and design in Lancaster, suffered pain after being tackled in a rugby match last year but also noticed changes to her bowel movements.

She said: "It was not a stomach bug. My eyes one night were just slightly yellow.

"I had three missed calls from the 111 operator telling me they were worried about my liver. The last message was: If you're not in A&E, go to A&E."

Alex underwent rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before her terminal diagnosis. Credit: Alex Angeles Caycho

Weeks of tests and checks led to discovery of a disease which medics told Alex it was "almost impossible" to get at her age.

"A few of the doctors and consultants could not agree on what it was," she said.

"That was what baffled the doctors because pancreatic cancer is mostly an older person's cancer."

A fundraiser organised by Alex's friends has raised tens of thousands towards a repatriation flight. Credit: GoFundMe

Alex was transferred to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool and underwent lengthy rounds of treatment before her terminal diagnosis.

Now she is trying to raise money for an international air ambulance flight, which would cost around £150,000 to transport her safely to Peru.

Alex's friend Katie Cherry, who set up the GoFundme page on behalf of Alex's boyfriend Dylan Harris, said: "This recommendation comes because Alexandra's condition has worsened over the weekend, and her current state requires the specialised care and safety measures that only a medical air ambulance can provide."

"It’s very important to me," Alex said. "See my grandma, my cousins - they’re like my brothers as I grew up with them - my aunts who are like second mothers to me.

"Living in a different country, you don’t get to see your Dad very often.

"He’s always been so encouraging and my number one fan. He’s always been very supportive. I wish I had more time with him."

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