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** UPDATE ** Richard has now sadly left this life. Please see updates below. I am currently leaving this page open in case anyone wants to donate to myself, Evie and Mabel during this time. xxx

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We have a problem, a big problem. But we have a plan, a ray of hope in pioneering immunotherapy treatment, and we need YOUR help to make it happen.

My much-loved husband, Richard, has brain cancer. Or as our two young daughters, Evie and Mabel, call it... “the brain bug”. But our story starts before Richard, not long ago, when our youngest daughter, Mabel, also had cancer.

- MABEL & RICHARD -

It was the start of the pandemic in 2020 when our daughter, Mabel, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer. She was 2.5 years old. It was the start of lockdown, and so an incredibly isolating time for our child to face cancer. Thankfully, she pushed through over two years of punishing treatment, losing all of her hair, and she made it. She beat cancer, and in September 2022, she started school. Richard lovingly supported our beautiful little girl all through her treatment, slept next to her in hospital and held her hand every step of the way.

However, unbelievably, just before this chapter closed, another one started. By some horrific coincidence, exactly two months to the day before Mabel was to finish her treatment, in May 2022, Richard had a big and unexpected seizure. This seizure led to his devastating diagnosis of a high-grade, brain tumour called Glioblastoma (GBM). Our world was turned upside down, once again.

Richard showed immense bravery through awake brain surgery to biopsy the tumour. He then started the standard NHS treatment of 6 weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and a further 6 months of chemotherapy. But this treatment is not a cure. It is buying time. At the end of chemotherapy, the waiting begins for the tumour to regrow.

Richard struggles immensely with the reality that he didn't get to see the end of his child's journey with cancer, before starting his own. On the same day that Mabel "Rang the Bell" at hospital to celebrate the end of her treatment, with cake and balloons and all her favourite nurses, Richard had already been to radiotherapy in another building, and it took all his courage not to cry and to focus on the celebration. Our eldest daughter, Evie, also suffers the consequences of not only her sister in treatment for cancer, but now her daddy. "Why?" she asks. "Why did this happen twice in our family?". There is no answer, but there is hope.

- THE SOLUTION -

Thankfully, there are other treatments available for GBM. Richard has just started cutting-edge immunotherapy treatment in Germany, and the creation of a personalised cancer vaccine. These work by taking cells from the patient’s specific tumour and creating a vaccine which teaches the immune system to identify and attack it. The vaccines are injected into the patient every month initially, approximately over the first year, and then less frequently thereafter. These personalised vaccines have had incredibly positive results - some people have gone into remission or long exceeded their initial prognosis. But these treatments are not available on the NHS or through private health insurance. They are only available in Germany and America, and are very expensive.

- FUNDRAISING -

This is why we are fundraising for Richard. We need to cover the costs of this pioneering life-saving treatment, and also the cost of travelling to Germany every month to access it. We cannot possibly afford this without your help.

Richard is a much loved daddy, husband, son, brother, uncle and friend to so many. Please help us in any way you can, big or small, to reach our goal and secure his treatment.

PLEASE (1) Share this page, (2) Give whatever you can, (3) Do a sponsored run / cake sale / mountain climb... whatever you can! Please if nothing else, help us spread the word and share this page. CLICK 'SHARE' at the top of page for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Email.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Holly, Richard, Evie (10 years) & Mabel (5 years) xxx

EMAIL: daddysbrainbug@gmail.com.

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/daddysbrainbug

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/daddysbrainbug