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A brave mother who went online to raise funds for her cancer fight but was cruelly trolled by people accusing her of running a scam has died.
Turkish-born painter and digital artist Evre Basak Clarke, 40, who lived in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, passed away on 24th August after a two-year battle with metastatic bowel cancer.
Her GoFundMe page "Evre’s Battle: Baby Oscar’s Future" [link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/evres-battle-baby-oscars-future] raised GBP 230,000 from 6,700 supporters. The appeal was launched both to help cover treatment costs and to secure the financial future of her baby son Oscar, born in 2023.
The campaign was supported by British comedian Ricky Gervais, who recorded a personal video with his cat, Pickle, saying "hi" to Evre.
But online critics, particularly on Turkish online forum Eksi Sozluk and X, accused her of exaggerating her illness or misusing the money.
They pointed to her 31st July post announcing she had just weeks to live and her decision to lock or delete some accounts soon afterwards.
One user wrote: "She collected more than TRY 12 million [GBP 230,000] and then disappeared." Another claimed: "She deleted the medical documents to cover her lies."
Some even resurfaced alleged old comments said to show disdain for Turks, accusing her of hypocrisy for seeking donations from the same community.
The conspiracy gained traction when an astrologer claimed publicly that she was healthy and defrauding supporters after looking at her star chart.
The baseless claim was widely condemned, but it fuelled weeks of abuse as Clarke's condition worsened.
Despite the storm, there was never any evidence of fraud, and Clarke's family and supporters, including Ricky Gervais, defended the fundraiser's legitimacy until her death.
Her last post on 26th June revealed the results of a CT scan at the Paul Strickland Centre, showing tumours in her liver had grown and chemotherapy was no longer an option.
Doctors recommended switching to an oral drug, Regorafenib, and Clarke managed to keep her humour, asking if the side effects would make her "look like Shrek".
The GoFundMe post added: "She remains very sore and very tired, but we’re deeply grateful this treatment is even an option. We truly thought we’d run out of choices, given the situation."
After that update, her accounts fell silent until her brother confirmed her death on Sunday.
Clarke had married British citizen Philip Clarke in 2023 and gave birth to their son Oscar the same year.
Just months later she was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer, which spread to her liver and lungs.
In her original GoFundMe appeal, she wrote: "The last thing I want is for money to become a source of worry for us, and I want my husband to focus on our baby, his own wellbeing and my recovery rather than financial concerns."
She pledged that: "If I win this battle and find myself with more funds than required, I wholeheartedly intend to allocate them to Oscar's bank account, ensuring they are dedicated to his well-being and educational future."
During her treatment, Clarke continued to create art. From hospital, she painted portraits of Oscar as a form of therapy.
Philip later explained: "Evre is thinking of her work at the moment as a kind of art therapy.
"She wants to show life through the lens of a cancer patient in a way that isn’t all doom and gloom. For her, painting Oscar brings together two of the loves of her life."
He described how their son had given her purpose: "Oscar isn’t aware of the future or the past and knowing that gives you the purpose to fight through the pain. I know he's a clear reason to carry on for Evre too."
Reflecting on their journey, he shared a quote from Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl that guided them: "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."
Her family released a statement saying she spent her final three weeks surrounded by loved ones and added: "Keep her alive in your hearts, express your love through art, and live each day to the fullest."
(Mike Leidig / newsX)
Byline Journalist: Mike Leidig
Byline Sub editor: Simona Kitanovska
Byline Spotter: Mike Leidig
Byline Commisioning Editor: Mike Leidig
Byline Senior Writer: Mike Leidig
Byline Picture Editor: Zorica Stojkovik
Byline Video Editor: Aloysius Fernandes
Byline Copychecker: Angela Trajkovska
Byline Illustrator: Angela Trajkovska
Byline News Editor: Mike Leidig
Geography: Buckinghamshire
Subject: Art, Painting, Health, Illness, Cancer, Society, Death
T4 Editor Story Rating: 10
T4 Editor Pic/Vid rating: 8
T4 Total rating: 9
