Mum inspires family to fund new research

Liversedge mum Karen Biricz passed away in February, aged 57, after being diagnosed with terminal secondary cervical cancer attached to the liver in 2014.

It is an aggressive and rare form of the disease for which no funding is specifically made available, Karen’s husband of 28 years Zoltan said.

But after being told in January that she had around two weeks to live, Karen inspirationally raised more than £7,000 towards her cause.

Zoltan said: “Karen was very lively and happy. She lived her life to the full. The amount of people she touched is unbelievable, with her courage and not letting it beat her. She was the most kind-hearted person you could ever meet.”

She had planned a skydive which she was too ill to take part in – so Zoltan, daughter Kirsty, her partner Ryan Lach and niece Natasha Biricz took the honours.

Karen’s treatment involved a triple-strength type of chemotherapy at the Bexley Wing in St James’s hospital, Leeds.

Zoltan said nobody had ever done more than six cycles of the treatment – but Karen undertook 24. And the day after one gruelling session, fitness lover Karen even took part in a charity zumbathon.

Now Zoltan and Kirsty, of James Street, have set up a Just Giving page for donations. They will post about future fundraising efforts such as a Midnight Memory Walk for Kirkwood Hospice on June 18 and a Channel swim.

Zoltan, 50, said: “We decided we want to do something if we can help other people who don’t have to go through what my wife did.”

But he also wants to send the message that people with the disease can live a full life.

“People need to know that you can carry on with life as normal. You can’t let it beat you,” he said.