A fundraising page to help a bride-to-be from Balham pay for lifesaving cancer treatment has smashed through the £200,000 target.

Emma Houlton, 31, has asked her wedding guests to help fund her essential £114,000-a-year care instead of giving gifts.

She was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer two years ago and her only chance of survival is immunotherapy - a treatment not available on the NHS for her type of cancer.

Miss Houlton, who is set to wed her fiance Matt Lees on Saturday, decided to set up a fundraising page and asked friends and family to donate.

She has already raised £215,000.

Speaking from her hospital bed, Miss Houlton said: "We couldn't believe it.

"We only shared the page with friends and family on Monday night for some wedding present donations and they started sharing the page and it kicked off from there."

The art director began the treatment with the help of her parents but needs extra funding to pay the huge yearly bill.

She said: "It's such a relief for me and my parents to know we can keep paying for the treatment for some time to come without worrying."

Miss Houlton added it was frustrating her treatment is not available on the NHS but she understands why.

"It's hard to push for legislation to treat cancers that really only affect such a tiny number of people, but a more modern approach to classifying cancers by the traits of the disease - rather than the location in the body - would be a great step towards helping people like me in the future."

The couple got engaged at the end of last year and planned to marry in Dorset in 2017, but pushed the wedding forward because of the illness.

They will instead marry near the Royal Marsden Hospital, where Miss Houlton is being treated.

She admitted it had been "stressful" juggling wedding planning with cancer but said she had got by with the help of some "incredible" friends and family.

Mr Lees said they decided to ask for donations instead of a wedding list because they "didn't really need anything else".

"People had been asking us for a way to help out for a while, so everyone's done an amazing job of spreading the word. We're so lucky to be surrounded by such brilliant, kind people."

He added: "People use the phrase 'last chance' a lot, but we really are out of options at this point, and the disease spreads so quickly that we're also running out of time.

"But miracles do happen, so we're hoping for a long and happy life together."

Visit www.gofundme.com/2ry3umc to make a donation.