Portobello High music teacher and mum-of-two isn't giving up on life despite being told she has one year to live
Aimee Horvath was diagnosed with a rare form of Stage 4 cancer in July and is seeking out alternative treatments
An Edinburgh school teacher and mum-of-two who was told she has one year to live has said she isn’t ready to give up on life.
Aimee Horvath, 41, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of an unknown origin in July after doctors found lesions on her ovaries.
The cello teacher, who lives in North Berwick and teaches at Portobello High School, first became worried about her wellbeing after she began feeling uncharacteristically fatigued.
She told the Evening News: “Last summer I just felt very tired and I'd lost a little bit of weight, not a majorly concerning amount though.
“I’m very active, so I just thought I had maybe just been overly active and wasn’t getting enough calories.”
After initially being treated for low iron, doctors eventually found lesions on her ovaries.
Aimee, who has two 10-year-old twin daughters with her husband Gergely, said that the lesions were initially thought to be benign and she underwent regular monitoring.
After they continued to grow, doctors recommended surgery, with Aimee agreeing to have one ovary removed.
Aimee said: “When they took it out, they discovered that it was actually cancer. They were expecting it to be ovarian if it was cancer, but it actually wasn't.
“They said that it is likely a gastrointestinal cancer which spread to my ovaries. I went through all the tests but they couldn’t find a primary tumour, so I’ve just been told it’s a cancer of unknown origin.”
Aimee then explained that it felt as though she had been hit with “blows” when doctors went on to tell her that they believe she may only have one year to live.
She said: “It just felt like there was no hope, there was no joy for probably about a week or two. It felt very dark. And then I just thought, right, okay, there's a better way to deal with this.”
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After being told that chemotherapy wouldn’t be effective, her only option through the NHS was immunotherapy. However, Aimee, who also runs her own yoga classes, took what she describes as a “personal” decision to reject this and instead opt for alternative treatments.
She said: “The immunotherapy was the only option given by the NHS, so I basically said thank you but I'm going to consider my options. We've done our research and we've looked into the main success treatment for the type that I have, and we found dendritic cell therapy.”
Aimee has launched a JustGiving fundraiser to help raise money to fund the expensive treatments, which include mistletoe infusions, with the aim of eventually flying to Cancun in Mexico for a specific type of dendritic cell therapy.
She said: “It's my ability to parent and be in the state that I'm in, which is like strong, healthy and going out with my kids, rollerblading every night, cooking dinner, I'm taking them to school, that’s encouraging me.
“I'm having loads of naps during the day, but they know I have cancer, and that sometimes mummy has to rest a little bit because her body's healing so much.
“Because I am currently in such good health, I'm in the perfect position to try and raise this money as quickly as I can to access the treatment. If you do become unwell, you're not always eligible to get the treatment because you have to obviously be able to fly, get medical insurance to cover you.”
She added: “I just say to my friends and family, come at me with hope, come at me with belief, and with huge positivity that I've absolutely got this and we can do it.”