A DYING mum of five from Dunfermline was left speechless by colleagues, friends and family who gave her £5,000 for the final trip of her dreams. 

Karen Miller, 48, was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and soon found out that the illness was terminal. 

Since then, many West Fifers have been raising money for her to go on one last holiday around Europe, including her daughter, who has raised £1,000 by doing a bungee jump. 

Karen told the Press: “It’s unbelievable. My daughter is absolutely petrified of heights, she won’t even go up a stepladder. 

“Me and my husband will be going to Belgium, Germany, Austria and Poland, all places that I’ve always wanted to go. It just means everything, I will be able to make memories and if I don’t go now when will I?”

The Asda St Leonards worker spent seven weeks in hospital for both radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment but the tumour was far too big to remove. 

Karen continued: “I’ve always been a fit and healthy person so it was a complete shock to find out that I had cancer. I had a sore back for a while and I was just not feeling myself, I wasn’t pulling my weight at work and I was constantly tired. 

“An x-ray showed a massive tumour covering the whole side of my lung and doctors could not understand how I had managed to keep going.”
The tumour is too close to Karen’s heart but treatment has broken the mass up slightly. Now medical staff are just trying to extend her life as much as possible. 

She said: “I weighed just six stone after the seven weeks of treatment, it was awful. I’m having a break just now but I will have to go back to get more, it’s just a matter of time. 

“I prefer to know what is happening to me straight away and I found out quite quickly that it was terminal. 

“It’s not easy for any of my family but they’re trying to put on their happy faces. My parents wish they could just take it away from me.”
Every day, pain management is a major chore for Karen even though she is still able to go abroad. 

“I have a lot of pain down my back and arm and I’m still suffering from sickness even though I’m not currently on chemo,” she explained.

“Chemotherapy is scary but the after-effects are the worst. It can be quite a lonely place to be as people just don’t understand unless they’ve been through it themselves. 

“I can’t thank Asda and all the people who have raised money enough. I appreciate it more than they will ever know.”