A COUPLE raised hundreds of pounds to fund treatment for their terminally ill friend in just a few days.

Dan and Olivia Selinger organised an online raffle to help towards new vaccines costing £90,000.

Mr and Mrs Selinger, from North Hinksey, have already sold almost 800 tickets to online buyers, raising nearly £900.

Prizes include a pub meal at the General Elliot in South Hinksey, a romantic dinner for two at Cherwell Boathouse and a professional photoshoot at Fisher Studios in Headington.

The couple’s close friend Kat Charles, a 34-year-old mother from Milton Keynes, has an aggressive brain tumour called glioblastoma.

Despite having chemotherapy at several hospitals including the John Radcliffe, her tumour will keep growing until she can find a cure.

Mr Selinger, who works for a publishing company, has been friends with Mrs Charles since school.

It was at Brighton University, where they all studied, that they both met his wife, a teacher.

Mr Selinger said: “We wanted to do something to help. We just have to imagine what she’s going through.

“My wife and I have known her for a long time and wanted to do something ourselves. You lose touch with people you’ve been at school with but we’ve stayed good friends.”

A few years ago, Mrs Charles had a sudden seizure on holiday. Doctors soon discovered the tumour, which became cancerous after a few years.

On her son’s first birthday she was in hospital having major brain surgery to reduce the size of the tumour.

She endured radiotherapy on top of the surgery, and has just finished a 12-month medical trial in London. The tumour is growing again, and now there’s nothing more the NHS can offer her.

Mrs Charles has already raised an impressive £50,000 of her target, with fundraisers rallying together online using the hashtag #KatsCure.

It is more than half of the cash she needs for a bespoke treatment called DCVAX – her last hope for survival.

Surgeons will remove as much of her tumour as possible and keep it alive as it is sent to America, where they will engineer a unique vaccine to attack the tumour cells.

The £90,000 will cover the cost of five vaccines, the minimum number for the treatment to take effect. Every additional vaccine will cost £20,000.

Mr Selinger was shocked by the fundraising frenzy that followed when he created the raffle page last week. He said: “I can’t believe that we’re already so close to our £1,000 target.”

Also up for grabs are handmade jewellery and pottery, an overnight stay in a countryside barn, a framed illustration by Kate Hazell, red wine, and chocolates.

The raffle will be drawn on November 30. Tickets cost £2. To enter visit rafflecreator.com/pages/8504/oxford-online-raffle-for-kats-cure