Supporter stories Becky Lemons and Darcyana Aspery-Walsh

THE MUMMY SQUAD HELPS FUND THE FIGHT

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Young mum, Becky Lemons, whose husband died from a brain tumour, took on last year’s Pretty Muddy 5k challenge near Worksop with a group of her friends

The women, who called themselves

The Mummy Squad, raised more than £1,200 to help us find a cure for brain tumours.

Becky and her husband, Leon, were teenage sweethearts and had been together for 11 years. Leon was diagnosed with a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma in May 2014. The tumour was inoperable although he had chemotherapy and radiotherapy to help keep his condition stable. Leon was 38 when he died in January 2018 leaving Becky with their two young children aged three and 11 months.

Becky and her friends met at a mother and baby group and struck up a close bond. Becky said: “I am so grateful to the

girls for all the support they have given my family after all we have been through. It’s heart-breaking and devastating what this disease can do. “In his final weeks, Leon was unable to talk; it robbed him of his mobility and the use of his right arm, leaving me to feed and care for him. It’s such a cruel disease and more needs to be done to find a cure as there are too many people going through this. More money must be invested in research to ensure others don’t suffer as we have.”

Our Community Fundraising Manager in the North East, Matthew Price, commented:

“Stories like Leon’s remind us that brain tumours are indiscriminate.

“They can affect anyone at any age and this is why we are working to build a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence, where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.”

If you’ve been touched by Leon’s story, you can make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via The Mummy Squad’s JustGiving page:

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ themummysquad

FIVE-YEAR-OLD GOES BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER YEAR OF CHEMOTHERAPY

Darcyana AsperyWalsh from Eston, Middlesbrough, was just 21 months old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour – or ‘Timmy’ as she calls it

She underwent brain surgery, multiple procedures and chemotherapy only to find that Timmy was growing again. Because of her treatment, she could only attend school four days a week for a year. After last summer’s long break, and a year to the day after her relapse, Darcyana couldn’t wait to put on her uniform and skip back into school with her friends and teachers.

She started back full-time in September but, sadly, had another relapse just three days later. She was put on a medical trial of the drug, cobimetinib, and has responded well. Her parents hope that her situation will stabilise. She’s now back at school almost full-time but makes monthly visits to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Darcyana’s mum, Debbie, who is receiving cancer treatment herself, explained: “My

attitude is that we have to stay positive, especially for Darcyana. She has gone through so much already and we don’t know what the future holds.

“All we can do is everything we can to make her life as happy as possible – she’s our little princess. She’s a typical five-year-old and every day she makes us so happy and proud to be her parents. “Life is now about waking up each morning and being grateful that we are all still here. We take each day as it comes and make the most of every second we spend together as a family.”

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help us fund the fight. Together we will find a cure

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40. We thank Darcyana’s family for allowing us to use her story to raise awareness about brain tumours.

If you’ve been inspired by Darcyana’s story and would like to make a donation to help us find a cure, please visit our website: www.braintumourresearch.org/donate-now