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Why I donate to The Brain Tumour Charity

Thirty and thriving, Chloe Bain bounced back from a shocking diagnosis and some tough treatment with the help of
The Brain Tumour Charity

This is a feature from Issue 12 of Charitable Traveller Magazine.

I first met ‘Trev’ in September 2020. We had the weirdest of introductions in the middle of the night.  I was in a very deep sleep in my hospital bed after a long day of tests and examinations. At 2am, two nervous medics with clip boards arrived and turned on the lights. I woke up dazed and in a deep-sleep muddle.

They started talking: “We’ve reviewed all your tests and scans and we’re sorry to tell you, you have hydrocephalus, that’s water on the brain, being caused by a brain tumour. The surgeon will probably operate in the morning.”

I couldn’t really take it in. I was half asleep, my bladder was bursting, and I replied: “Sorry, I need to pee. Could I go to the loo, and you can explain it again.” I felt sorry for them. They looked far more scared about giving me this news than I was, in my blissful ignorance, about receiving it. I didn’t really react at all. I just needed to pee!  So, I went to the loo and then they started again. The diagnosis hadn’t changed, and they didn’t seem to have any more to add. I was certain I was meant to respond, ask some questions maybe, but I had absolutely no idea what they were, so I just said: “Ah OK”. And they left.

In the days that followed I named my diagnosis ‘Trev the Tumour’, I don’t know why – maybe it was just a way to visualize it as we headed off together on a mad journey into the world of neurosurgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, brain imaging and scans. It was a world I couldn’t even begin to understand on that first day, but two years later, I suppose I’m a reluctant ‘expert’.

Brain tumour treatment can be tough, but Trev is currently under control and I’m getting my life back on track. I have wonderful consultants and nurses supporting me every step of the way but there is an awful lot to learn and so much research work to be done which is why I now donate to The Brain Tumour Charity and would encourage you to do so as well.

Many questions, once you have them, only time can answer for you, but The Brain Tumour Charity is a hugely valuable source of insight and support for the newly diagnosed and for survivors, for their families and friends. Its team collates all the latest research, shares best practice and true-life experiences, campaigns for treatment change and fund-raises for trials. It provides a listening ear when you most need one. As you navigate the twists and turns of brain tumour treatment, the most valuable commodity is reliable information. Or, at the very least, you find out the questions you are meant to ask!

Help make a change

About 88,000 people have a brain tumour in the UK but they only get 3% of research money.
thebraintumourcharity.org

This is a feature from Issue 12 of Charitable Traveller.