Let's Kick Cancer with Karen!

Hi Everyone,

We are Lorraine & Alex a Sister and Brother of a wonderful Mum who has been dealt a bad hand. We are hoping to raise as much money as we can to put towards our Mum's potential life-saving Brain Cancer treatment. Our Mum was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Stage IV tumour and has been fighting to keep it at bay for the past 19 months.

We have pretty much come to the end of the road with the NHS in terms of what they can offer Mum to treat the brain cancer, and we have been looking at alternative options. The majority of alternative options come at a large price, making it difficult to fund the treatment long-term. We are hoping to raise as much money as possible to give my Mum the best chance at fighting this and prolonging her life as much as possible.

The money raised will go towards the following:

We are also looking into treatments such as Re-radiation (£22,000), A less invasive type of surgery (not provided on the NHS) (£18,000), or alternative Chemotherapies (Not provided on NHS) £33,000.

We don't have a complete treatment plan as of yet we we are still going through appointments with various private clinics but the above is what we have found out so far. As soon as will update this information to show where the funds will be allocated.

Thank you for deciding to support our family and if you don't know our Mum please take a moment to read our Mum's journey so far.

Karen's Story:

My journey began back in late 2015 when I was experiencing strange smells and feelings of de ja vu. The doctors dismissed it as menopause but I knew something wasn't quite right. I had a couple of funny episodes where I would get this strange smell and a weird feeling would come over me as if I didn't feel like I was in the room. I continued to have a few episodes of what I called "funny turns". One Sunday evening we had my son and daughter and their kids around for Sunday dinner, as we regularly did, and one of these "funny turns" happened again. My daughter said I looked at her like I didn't know who she was and then after a few seconds I was back to normal but really tired.

The following morning I had a grand mal seizure in my sleep which caused me to bite my tongue in half and have continuous fits. My husband found me with blood all over the pillow and feared the worst. I was rushed to the hospital and woke up with my family surrounding me. The next 5 days consisted of multiple scans which revealed I had a Glio grade 2 brain tumor.

I was told It would be safe to wait for surgery due to it being a low grade tumour so I could attend my son's wedding in Florida. The surgery to remove the tumour went really well and I was back in work 6 weeks later.

My First Crainotomy

For 3 years I had regular scans which were all clear and I decided to change jobs and find something closer to home since I was no longer allowed to drive.

After a routine scan in November 2020 the results showed the tumour had returned for round two. I was obviously devasted but knew id done it before so I could do it again. I was told to isolate myself immediately and was operated on within a week. The second craniotomy went well and I was out of the hospital within a couple of days.

Still smiling after my 2nd surgery and glad it had gone well

When the histology came back, I was told this tumour was much worse than the surgeon had expected and I was diagnosed with a Grade IV Glioblastoma. The oncologist gave me the news no one wants to hear......they expected I would have 12 months to live. I was so shocked and terrified because I knew people with the same tumour, who had lost their lives due to it.

After the initial shock and lots of support from my lovely husband and family, I was ready to fight and beat the statistics. Most people diagnosed with Glioblastomer are given 6-12 months to live, even with treatment. I was and am determined to beat the odds. It has been 19 months since my Glioblastoma diagnosis, so I am already proving the statistic wrong. I will continue to fight and be within the 5% of people who survive beyond five years.

I went into the standard treatment of 6 weeks of radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy following the surgery. I tolerated both treatments well and stayed positive throughout. The hardest thing was losing some of my hair and the extreme Fatigue. Unfortunately, the standard treatment hasn't kept the tumour from growing, and I now need to change tactics.

Trying on my new wig after my Radiation Treatment

I genuinely believe I can fight this and continue to see my beautiful grandchildren grow up. My family means everything to me, and I am so grateful for their love and support throughout this journey.

Thank you for reading my story, and I hope you will join me in kicking cancer's butt!

All my love, Karen xxx