A mum-of-two believes she gave her terminally ill father an extra year of life by feeding him her breast milk.
Helen Fitzsimmons, 40, pumped her one-year-old son's milk and gave it to her father Arthur after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Arthur had already been fighting myeloma cancer - which affects bone marrow - for four years when he was told he also had prostate cancer in October 2013.
Desperate to help, Helen started researching treatments and came across medical evidence which showed breast milk can boost the immune system .
After tentatively approaching the subject with mum Jean, Arthur told Helen: 'Anything is worth a go.'
From then on her father would regularly drink her milk.
Helen said:
"The first time dad tasted my milk from a glass he drank it down in one go. He looked at me and smiled, then said 'this tastes fine'.
"I know there are some people who may find this all a little strange but when someone you love is suffering you would do anything to help them.
"I'd found a way to help my dad and I took it. It gave him hope and he lived 16 months after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"That was a year longer than we expected after that and I'm sure it was my breast milk that helped."
Sadly, Helen's dad eventually lost his fight for life in Easter last year - 16 months after first drinking her milk.
She said: "My only regret is that I didn't realise the benefits of breast milk earlier.She saidUK Mirror
Helen Fitzsimmons, 40, pumped her one-year-old son's milk and gave it to her father Arthur after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Arthur had already been fighting myeloma cancer - which affects bone marrow - for four years when he was told he also had prostate cancer in October 2013.
Desperate to help, Helen started researching treatments and came across medical evidence which showed breast milk can boost the immune system .
After tentatively approaching the subject with mum Jean, Arthur told Helen: 'Anything is worth a go.'
From then on her father would regularly drink her milk.
Helen said:
"The first time dad tasted my milk from a glass he drank it down in one go. He looked at me and smiled, then said 'this tastes fine'.
"I know there are some people who may find this all a little strange but when someone you love is suffering you would do anything to help them.
"I'd found a way to help my dad and I took it. It gave him hope and he lived 16 months after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"That was a year longer than we expected after that and I'm sure it was my breast milk that helped."
Sadly, Helen's dad eventually lost his fight for life in Easter last year - 16 months after first drinking her milk.
She said: "My only regret is that I didn't realise the benefits of breast milk earlier.She saidUK Mirror
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