Help Linky receive treatment for Grade 4 'GBM' brain tumour.

Linky de Bruyn is generous to a fault. Always willing to give her time, skills, attention and smile to anyone and everyone who crosses her path.

Beloved amongst her school community where she has taught high school maths to hundreds, if not thousands of teens from across the Hills district; a pillar amongst her Church community; and a willing host for all of the best kid's parties her own children know how to throw.

When her grandchildren needed her, she immediately stepped up and volunteered to provide for them for as long as they needed her. Linky has always been there for anyone who needs her.

And now, Linky needs us.

At the end of April 2024, after a sudden onset of illness, the de Bruyn family was shocked to learn that their wife, mother and grandmother had unbeknownst to them living with a brain tumour for the past few months.

The tumour was so large that it caused the left hemisphere of her brain to be pushed into the right significantly, and swelling had started to push her brain into her brain stem.

Following an emergency craniotomy 2 days after presenting to the ER for scans, Linky was blessed with a swift recovery and gained back all of her pre-tumour functions.

Once the swelling on her brain went down, and she regained some of her motor skills, she immediately went back to the business of getting better to keep her grandkids in their routine as much as possible. Her recovery felt like a miracle to those around her, who hoped against hope for her 'scare' to be over.

Unfortunately, despite all of the fingers and toes being crossed, the news was not all positive. A biopsy completed during the brain surgery revealed a diagnosis of a Grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM).

GBM is currently considered the most aggressive brain tumour known to science, with no known cure, and a poor prognosis.

Not to be held down, or even slowed by the news, over the following months, Linky underwent 30 daily radiation treatments and 8 cycles of chemo. And she did it while running her busy household, and continuing to smile.

Yes, remarkably, she was able to return to “normal” life (including getting back to her students for term 4 2024!) in amongst scans, oncologists, fortnightly blood tests, and everything else in between. Such is her formidable strength and her unshakeable faith.

Following her latest MRI, in early 2025 we’ve been informed that there is signs of a new mass, most likely another tumour.

Linky will again undergo a second surgery in March in an attempt to remove it.

Unfortunately, traditional chemotherapy is not effective against GBM. And because it isn't a 'glamorous' illness, it hasn't attracted the attention (and funding) of other, more survivable cancers.

But passionate Doctors around the world have been searching for treatment options to try and extend life and improve the prognosis given to GBM patients.

The most promising of these potential treatments has come through the research and testing phase in the Europe

At this stage it looks like Linky will be a good candidate for these treatments! We are so thankful to God that Linky has this option!

However, as there are no trials in Australia, these new treatments are extremely expensive to access, and there is no Australian government support and no PBS to reduce these costs.

Pieter and the kids will do 'whatever it takes' to improve Linky's chances at surviving this fight, but those of us who know and love this family know that that is a heavy burden for them to bear, especially when they all have young children to support. And so, we reach out to our wonderful community, our extended family, our friends, our churches and our schools to say, 'please: help us to help them to help her'

The community surrounded the de Bruyns with incredible support during Linky’s first treatment, and we’re now asking if you’d be able to help in any way, just a little more, to lighten the financial load of the treatment, and to help Linky focus on getting better, without worrying about the cost.

We know the target amount is astronomical, and we want you to know every cent helps.

Any funding received that is not allocated immediately to the cost of treatment will be donated to the fight against Glioblastoma Multiforme and research into helping those with this terrible disease to live a longer and happier life.

Thank you for your generosity.