In Hope

Radiotherapy graduate Kaite’s surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma brain tumour was delayed because of lockdown. Ahead of the operation this autumn, Katie is preparing herself physically and mentally by taking on a series of daily Walks of Hope to raise money for the charity Brain Tumour Research.

When Karen Bucknall underwent a full hysterectomy in 2015, she thought it would mark the end of her health problems which, up to that point, had included fibroids, cysts and a low-grade tumour on her uterus. However, the worst was yet to come for the former holiday rep and air hostess. The following year she was diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumour and in 2019, Karen was discovered to have stage 3 bowel cancer. Doctors have since found another low-grade tumour in Karen’s brain, which is likely to need removing with surgery. In spite of her poor health, the 51-year-old has managed to fulfil her lifelong dream of moving to the Cotswolds and she has just completed a diploma in travel writing and journalism.  

Karen Eggleston’s grade 1 olfactory groove meningioma was discovered after she suffered a seizure at home and went into cardiac arrest in June 2020, flatlining for about 10 minutes. She had been exhibiting strange behaviour for some time but the shocking discovery was made whilst brain scans were being carried out to check for any damage her brain had sustained during the 10 minutes she was without oxygen. When she came to in hospital a week after having a craniotomy, she had no memory of the seven months leading up to her collapse, including the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other things in the months prior, such as the UK’s change of prime minister. The 50-year-old organisational development consultant, from Westerham in Kent, also found herself completely blind in her left eye and visually impaired in her right eye. She went on to have radiotherapy and is now being monitored with annual scans having been given the ‘all-clear’. 

When mum-of-two Kathrine Gaddas, from North Yorkshire, first began suffering from brain tumour symptoms in early 2019, doctors initially thought they may have been caused by anxiety. It wasn’t until she had a seizure in the supermarket where she works in July that year, that she was sent for a scan, which revealed a glioma in her left temporal lobe. The 36-year-old checkout operator has since had surgery to remove the tumour and, thankfully, has recovered well. Having returned to work at the beginning of 2020, the Morrisons employee is turning to fundraising, as she wants to give something back after her ordeal. 

Katie’s diagnosis with a low-grade glioma had a huge impact on her emotional health. Located on her brainstem, the tumour is inoperable and incurable, and she lives with the knowledge that it could become aggressive and impact her daily functioning. Faced with such devastating news, Katie, 50, and her partner Kate decided to arrange a date for their dream wedding, having been together for more than four years. The couple will hold a raffle in aid of Brain Tumour Research on their big day – a charity which funds a research centre in Katie’s hometown of Plymouth.

Katie Galan-Wilkinson is a 37-year-old mother-of-three from Ilminster in Somerset. Katie’s labour was induced after her brain tumour diagnosis came in the late stages of her pregnancy. She has undergone surgery to remove a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma. Having been through a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, she now has regular scans to monitor her health.

Katie had only been at nursery for a few short weeks when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Within hours she was undergoing emergency surgery but the tumour, although low-grade, is buried deep within her brain making it inoperable. She has endured 18 months of chemotherapy and three months of specialist radiotherapy in America which proved unsuccessful. Once again she is back on chemo and no-one knows what the future may bring.

“Life is so precious and, for us, fragile. We try not to look too far ahead and cling onto the fact that, with research, every day presents the possibility of better treatment options for Katie in the future. It is vital that we have hope and that we live in the moment but I do find it so incredibly hard to do. One of the biggest changes we have had to make since Katie’s diagnosis is to live with uncertainty, it is awful because nobody can tell us what the future holds.”

Eight-year-old Katie Paterson, from North Lanarkshire, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December 2020, after experiencing vomiting, clumsiness and pain in her back. Brave Katie has since been through two surgeries, radiotherapy and is now on a gruelling course of chemotherapy. As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease across Scotland, Katie and her parents continue to shield, to try to protect Katie while her immune system is weakened, due to the cancer treatment she is receiving. 

Katie was diagnosed with a grade 3 meningioma brain tumour in October 2014, aged 30. After two craniotomies and radiotherapy, as well as months spent learning to regain her ability to walk and speak, Katie has been told she has months to live. Her dearest wish is to be allowed more time with her beloved husband Steven, who has devotedly cared for her over this traumatic seven-year-period.