Please Help Crissi Continue Her Fight Against Brain Cancer

In 2016, our world changed forever.

Crissi was diagnosed with a Grade 4 Glioblastoma brain tumour — one of the most aggressive and devastating forms of brain cancer.

At Southampton Hospital, she had already endured major brain surgery, only to be rushed back into theatre just 12 hours later after suffering a bleed on her brain. She then spent a week fighting for her life in ICU before we were called into a side room and given the news no family is ever prepared to hear.

The biopsy confirmed it was a Grade 4 Glioblastoma.

The surgeons had managed to remove only 60–70% of the tumour. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy would follow, but then the consultant quietly said the words that shattered us all:

“12 to 18 months survival.”

In that moment, our hearts broke.

But while we crumbled around her, Crissi did not.

She chose to fight.

And for the last 10 years, she has fought this cruel disease with every ounce of strength, courage, and determination imaginable.

Brain cancer changes a person forever. We grieved deeply for the “old” Crissi, but the woman who emerged after surgery showed us a different kind of strength — pure, selfless, and full of love. Even on her darkest days, she still smiles warmly at strangers and says:

“Now you have a lovely day.”

That is who Crissi is.

The strongest, kindest, most courageous soul we know.

Crissi met her husband, Dave McMahon, in 1995, and the love they share is something truly special — unwavering, loyal, and deeply pure. For the last decade they have stood shoulder to shoulder, facing every surgery, every scan, every setback, and every heartbreak together.

Now they need your help.

A routine MRI scan in August 2025 was devastatingly misreported as “stable” with “no action required.” Tragically, no contrast dye was used during the scan — something essential for identifying tumour regrowth — and the images were not reviewed by a specialist neuroradiologist.

As a result, active disease was missed and allowed to grow untreated for 10 months.

Even more heartbreakingly, when Crissi later attended A&E with frightening neurological symptoms, she was sent home and told it was simply fatigue.

The consequences these failures have been catastrophic. (THESE ARE NOT FAILURES OF ANY NHS HOSPITALS)

Crissi has now been told that potentially life-extending immunotherapy treatment is not available through the Guernsey healthcare system or the NHS.

Her only hope now is to travel to Germany for specialist treatment.

Dave and Crissi are desperately trying to raise funds to access potentially life-saving immunotherapy treatment, including Dendritic Cell Therapy in Berg, Germany, or treatment at the IOZK Immun-Onkologisches Zentrum in Cologne.

But time is no longer on our side.

These treatments are extremely expensive, and every day matters.

We are asking, from the bottom of our hearts, if you can please help in any way possible. No donation is too small. Every single contribution brings Crissi one step closer to accessing treatment and continuing the fight she has battled so bravely for the last decade.

If we are fortunate enough to raise more than is needed for treatment, every remaining penny will be donated to brain tumour charities to help other families facing this devastating disease.

Please donate if you can, and if you are unable to donate, please share Crissi’s story.

Thank you for helping us fight for more time with someone we love beyond words.

Crissi is now in the amazing hands of the Christie hospital Manchester