***NEW CHALLENGE*** April 2024 canoeing the Caledonian Canal!!

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My mum, Elaine Clevett, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in August 2021, just a week after first exhibiting symptoms and only six weeks after her 60th birthday. The tumour she had was a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and she was given just weeks to live. 

GBM is a devastating cancer that can result in death in six months or less, if untreated. GBM is known for its unstoppable aggression, with mortality rates and treatment little changed in over 30 years! Currently, the only treatment for GBM is surgery, which will remove as much of the tumour as possible with a goal of improving conditions for complementary chemo and radiotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, the regimen is not curative, meaning it does not kill every cancer cell. Even following a successful operation, the average survival time is only 12-18 months. 

In September 2021, my mum had a craniotomy to remove as much of the tumour as possible. Unfortunately she suffered a bleed on the brain and a stroke immediately following the first surgery, so was rushed back into surgery for a second time. This resulted in over 90% of the tumour having to be removed, which meant many healthy cells were also removed and she was left with significant brain damage. On the 1st December, exactly 4 months after first exhibiting symptoms my mum passed away. She went through so much, to gain very little extra time. 

Research on this type of cancer is extremely difficult, in part due to only 25% of glioblastoma patients surviving more than one year. More research is desperately needed to understand this illness better - there is currently very little understanding of the disease, no understanding of the cause and only one treatment option available to those afflicted.  

At the very end, my mum survived 15 days without food or water; she was the strongest person I knew and stayed strong till the very end. In April, I will be walking 106km around the Isle of Wight non-stop day and night, in her memory, to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research. It is a tough challenge but I know if I have even a tenth of the strength of my mum I will be able to do it! I hope I can do her proud and am able to raise a lot of money to support the research into this horrific disease. 

***UPDATE: I completed my 105km walk challenge in April 2021 (it took 28 hours of non-stop walking), my next 100km challenge is canoeing the Caledonian Canal in April 2024!!

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