TODAY the Advertiser is asking readers to dig deep and help raise £25,000 needed by cancer sufferer Jean Murphy to pay for treatment to prolong her life.

The Jean Murphy Cancer Appeal aims to raise vital cash that will allow the 63-year-old grandmother to continue receiving the drug Sutent.

And the Advertiser wants people to send their donations, however small, to the appeal, so that she can continue to have the life-enhancing drug denied her by the Salford Primary Care Trust.

Jean, of Cleveland Avenue, Hope, won a High Court battle to make the PCT rethink their decision to deny her the drug, but they still refused to change their minds. Then a mystery female donor came forward with £10,000 so that treatment could start.

That money will run out in January and in order to continue the course Jean will need at least another £25,000 to cover the cost of the drug itself, and the ancillary treatment she will need.

This week Jean said she was delighted and awed that the fund was being set up in her name.

She said: "It makes me very humble that this fund is being set up for me and that people who I have never met care enough about my quality of life.

"On the other hand, I can understand why some people will say ‘Why should we give any more money to her?’

"But the thing is, this is not just for me - I am just a symbol of loads of people who have been the victim of the postcode lottery in healthcare.

"If the fund raises more than I need, it will be used to buy the drug for others in similar circumstances."

Jean’s daughter Cathy Ostastz, 36, added: "Mum could have sat back when she got the £10,000 donation but she didn’t.

"She went down to London in her wheelchair and led a protest outside the headquarters of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.

"That’s the kind of woman she is - and that’s why we want her with us for as long as possible.

"We all know there is a limit on the time she has left - Sutent will only extend her life expectancy from about 18 months to three years.

"But it’s the quality of the time she has left that is so important and precious to us all."

A bank account is being set up by Weaste and Seedley councillor John Deas where donations can be paid in.

John said: "I heard about Jean’s campaign and realised she only lived a few doors away from me so I went round for a chat.

"She impressed me with her fighting spirit and by how close and loving her family are and I got drawn into fundraising."

PLEASE send your donations to: The Jean Murphy Appeal, Salford Advertiser, 30 Church Street, Eccles M30 0DF. All funds will be forwarded to the offical appeal account. Details of how to pay donations into the bank acount will be given in next week’s paper (2 Oct).