Brain tumour survivor Tanya Thomas raised vital funds for The Brain Tumour Charity, simply by sharing her story through Facebook fundraiser.
Secondary school English teacher, Tanya from Morecambe, Lancashire, was inspired to raise funds following a successful operation to remove a large brain tumour in early March 2020.
Tanya started with what she felt was an ambitious aim of raising £500 but changed the target twice in the first two weeks when she was flooded with donations from friends and family.
Tanya said: “I was stunned. Struggling to sleep a week after my operation, I put the fundraiser up in the middle of the night – I wanted to do something positive – but by breakfast time, the £500 target had already been met!”
Tanya upped her Facebook Fundraiser target twice more, first to a thousand pounds and then to £1,500 – and the final total was over £1,800.
Secondary English teacher Tanya, had just turned 40 when diagnosed in January 2020 and recognises how lucky she is to have been diagnosed with an atypical, grade II, brain tumour – and not a cancerous tumour like so many younger people.
Tanya said: “I have taught several students over the years who have had cancerous brain tumours, the funds raised are really for my students, former and future.”
When she was first diagnosed, The Brain Tumour Charity’s website provided her with essential information and advice with regards the operation procedure for a craniotomy and the likely recovery period – which is the same procedure regardless of the tumour type.
Tanya’s impressive grand total raised was a whopping £1,835 – enough to fund research into brain tumours for seven days.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my Facebook friends for donating, my amazingly supportive colleagues and friends at The Queen Katherine School, Kendal, the resources and staff at the incredible Brain Tumour charity and, of course, all the fabulous NHS staff at both Lancaster and Preston hospitals for the amazing care they have given me.”
Geraldine Pipping, The Charity’s Director of Fundraising, said: “We are extremely grateful for all the efforts made by our fantastic fundraisers and wish them all the very best.
“Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years. We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work. We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of people like Tanya that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.”
The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity, committed to fighting brain tumours on all fronts.
They fund pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options as well as raising awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours to bring about earlier diagnosis.
The Charity also provides support for everyone affected so that they can live as full a life as possible, with the best quality of life.
- Find out more: https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/
