A fundraising appeal has been launched to help a mother of two suffering from a rare form of cancer.

Kamala Smith, 32, had leiomyosarcoma (LMS) — a cancer of the smooth muscle and connective tissues — diagnosed in September 2011.

Her friends and family are now hoping to raise $9,685 to help to cover the next round of her radiation therapy and $50,000 to cover medical expenses and household shortages for the next year.

The campaign was set up by Mrs Smith’s mother and father, Shirlene and Kenneth Simons, her sister Kelley Simons, and family friend Tiffany Swainson.

“Kamala is a strong woman. If you know her, you know she is a bag of smiles, giggles and laughs,” the family said in a statement. “She has the spirit to fight her cancer but needs everyone’s help to win. We can’t change this disease, but we can change how she fights it. All your generous contributions are deeply appreciated — anything you can give will help.”

Mrs Smith returned from Boston on Saturday. She had been having scans and tests at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

She said that the scans showed two new tumours and a fracture caused by radiation treatment on her spine, and more active cancer in her sternum.

“This year our expenses are higher and my health is different,” Mrs Smith said. “I didn’t have the lung cancer or the bone cancer last year. The cancer has progressed, but at the same time it has responded to the chemotherapy.”

Mrs Smith started chemotherapy in August last year but had to stop the treatment after she developed pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lung tissue. Although the cancer in her lungs responded well to the treatment, she said the tumours in her bones were unaffected.

She said she needed more radiation therapy but because she was not able to afford the treatment right away she has had to return home.

Mrs Smith said that while she had found work at law firm Cox Hallett and Wilkinson after she was made redundant by HSBC, she has been unable to work since December 2013 because of the disease and has used up all of her vacation and sick days.

Mrs Smith, who is married to former North Village footballer Nakia Smith, said her family relied solely on her husband’s income, which is not enough to cover monthly household expenses let alone the cost of her treatment.

“Last year they did an awesome job — I didn’t expect that kind of response,” Mrs Smith said, referring to several fundraising events organised by the community. A Latin Vibes appeal raised $1,500 for the Smith family and the North Village Community Club donated $9,000. Bermuda Emerging Professionals also donated.

Mrs Smith, mother to sons Kenori Simons, ten, and Nakai Smith, seven, said the family had to move because she could no longer manage the steps at their old home.

“We have to pay for rent now, which is not easy,” Mrs Smith said. “We’re renting month to month just in case something goes wrong financially.

“My husband is very stressed — he takes on everything but he is doing a wonderful job.”

In 2011, doctors detected an aggressive cancer in Mrs Smith’s uterus. After a hysterectomy, she was in remission until December 2013, when doctors determined that the cancer had returned to her spine.

She was airlifted to Boston in January last year and received radiation therapy. While in hospital, she developed a pulmonary embolism — a clot on the lungs — and three months later she found out that the cancer had spread to her lungs.

Mrs Smith hopes to return to Boston within the next three weeks to receive the treatment she needs.

A fundraising website (www.gofundme.com/cancercare4kam) had been set up for Mrs Smith but this has been shut down temporarily because the American site requires a United States social security number (SNN), which Mrs Smith does not have. Unless she can get one, the $815 dollars raised so far will have to be refunded.

• Donations to help the Smith family can be made to Bank of Butterfield using account number 0601244660019.