A YOUNG South Lakeland woman needs to raise more than £1,000 to fly her sister home from Australia to keep her cancer-free.

Abi Cooper, 23, of Arnside, was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014, a type of blood cancer that is common among young adults.

Following two unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments, it was an immunotherapy treatment that eventually took her into remission.

However, she was told that her chance of relapse was high and that she would need a donor stem cell transplant.

"Quite remarkably, both my sisters were tissue matches, and my younger sister, Beth, agreed to donate for me," said Abi. "She was 18 at the time."

The transplant, which took place in 2015, went well and Abi was able to return to Durham University in 2016 and secure a first class degree in English Literature.

However, Abi is now in need of more donor lymphocytes (white blood cells) from her sister in order to keep her healthy.

"In May, Beth left for Australia with her boyfriend, for a year of working and travelling," Abi, who is starting an MA in Medical History and Humanities at York University in September, explained. "She had been saving up for months for this trip and was so excited for all the new experiences it would bring.

"The day after she flew out, the Christie (a cancer treatment centre in Manchester) called me to let me know I needed more donor lymphocytes - but there were no more in the freezer. It's a case of extraordinarily bad timing and my first thought was that Beth would never forgive me for spoiling her trip.

"To add insult to injury, because Beth's a family member, so we didn't need to use the stem cell register, we are unable to receive help from Anthony Nolan or a similar charity to fund her flights home. There is apparently no question of having Beth donate in Australia and flying the blood products back - Beth has to come herself. This means we have to somehow find enough money to pay for her flights."

In order to get Beth home, Abi and her family are hosting a fundraising Jazzternoon tea on Sunday at the WI in Arnside.

Tickets are £5 on the door, which includes a drink and a cake and music is being provided by professional jazz band Avenue Jazz.

Abi, who described sister Beth as 'an adventurous soul' who was 'constantly inspiring' her to be braver, wants any money surplus to her £1,500 aim to go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

"The teenage and young adult service unit at the Christie has provided first-rate care from professionals who specialise in cancer in those aged 13-25," she said. "Yet this specialised care comes at a cost - the Christie is about two hours drive from our home in Arnside.

"If I had a family who was unable to make that journey on a regular basis I would not have been able to access those services. The Teenage Cancer Trust works to distribute those same kinds of services to young people like me but they are still only able to reach half of all young people who are diagnosed with cancer in the UK."