Appealing to Battle Brain Cancer
Donation protected
Hello,
We would like to share our heartbreaking story about our beloved big sister Suzanne and ask for your help to raise funds for treatment to help to save her life. In May 2018, at the age of just 32, our wonderful sister Sue was diagnosed with a grade 4 Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer and along with the journey she has faced she continues to fight for her life. We hope that Sue's story will help to raise awareness about this awful condition that she is currently fighting and we hope that we are able to find a treatment to beat cancer and brain tumours. UK figures suggest that 11,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year. We would like to raise awareness as we have read less than 2% of donations to cancer research is spent on brain tumours. This is also the same condition that the inspiring MP Dame Tessa Jowell was battling but now had sadly passed.
Our story starts towards the end of 2017 when Sue was concerned that her vision was ‘funny’ and that she was feeling increasingly tired and fatigued. Sue never made a fuss and carried on with everyday life and work for a couple of months until she booked herself into the opticians for an eye test where no concerns were raised. Sue continued to have episodes of new symptoms such as numbness, weakness and increased sensation down her left side. Sue continued to go on and eventually booked in to see the GP as she was still concerned about her symptoms. Sue was given routine blood tests and it appeared that she had next to none vitamin D which she was prescribed and taking supplements, but this shown no changes to her symptoms, in fact they continued to get worse.
In May 2018, we heard that Sue was having difficulty writing and grasping with her left hand and eventually she was complaining her skin was very sensitive and sore to touch on her left arm. Sue was quite convinced that her symptoms were related to the vitamin deficiency. It was only when we seen Sue, on the day that we all met to go shopping, that we become increasingly concerned for her seeing how much difficulty she was having to function. We noticed that Sue was slightly dragging her left foot, and on top of all her other symptoms we immediately demanded that she was to go back to see the doctor as we were not convinced that this was a vitamin deficiency causing these symptoms and something much more serious.
Following the appointment the next day, the doctor referred Sue straight to Heartlands Hospital for urgent scans. The consultant then gave us the devastating news that it was a brain tumour. What's more, the tumour was approximately 5cm when it was discovered and situated on the right side of the frontal lobe of the brain, hence the symptoms effecting her left side. Our hearts were completely shattered but we knew we had to stay strong for Sue and hope that she would recieve the best news for her diagnosis. Sue was then referred to the Queen Elizabeth hospital where she underwent further scans an blood tests. We also discovered that day that she had lost the peripheral vision in her left eye as the tumour was blocking her vision. The Neurosurgeons decided the should try to surgically remove as much of the mass and fluid as possible so Sue underwent brain surgery for about 8 hours whilst the surgeons tried delicately to remove and get a biopsy. Sue spent the following 10 days in hospital recovering from her operation and was told that the surgeons could not remove any of the tumour as it was too close to vital parts of the brain, however they were able to obtain a small sample for a biopsy and reduce the fluid on the brain which was aggrovating some of her symptoms. As Sue was recovering in hopsital, we recieved the terrible news that the tumour was malignant. The devostation was unbearable for us all. We could only imagine how Sue was feeling having this cancerous tumour on her brain, a condition so cruel and extremely hard to accept. We will never forget that look of fear and disappointment in her face, and being told that it is incurable and no treatment to heal her. Our whole world turned upside down, feeling helpless and guilt, and yet trying to stay so positive to keep Sue fighting this evil disease because she IS so strong and we know she will not give up fighting until the end.
Since July 2018, Sue had an intensive six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with the aim to shrink and contain the brain tumour. She continued to have further chemotherapy. Indications are by latest MRI is that the tumour is still growing. Sue is no longer suitable for conventional surgery due to the type and location of tumour. Sue has had the maximum amount of radiotherapy they can offer and is not suitable for any current clinical trails or treatments. With all our hopes shattered an clutching at strings watching Sue still be so positive about the whole situation, right from the start and the awfully hard journey she has done to get where she is today, we owe it to help her fight this disease and prolong life in any way we can.
This is our appeal, we would like to ask everyone to please donate whatever you can to help us to SAVE OUR SUE we would be extremely grateful for your help and generosity, every penny raised will go to either help Sue or towards brain tumour research.
On behalf of Sue and all her family, we would like to thank you in advanced for reading our story and for any donations made. It would be a pleasure if you could leave your contact details so we can thank you personally.
Thank you for reading.
"Please help us save our lovely Suzanne, my eldest daughter, my first born and my whole world. I'v watched Sue turn into a beautiful and talented young woman, so kind and caring, and having the purest of hearts. When we received the distressing news I felt my heart just sink like no words could ever describe. No parent should ever have to hear those words about their children. I will continue to help and support my daughter and keep fighting with her because she is determined to beat this. I pray that my beautiful daughter will be well again. Please help us to save our lovely Sue and give her an opportunity that’s she deserves. By raising funds we can also support others like Sue and their families like ours" - Suzanne's Mum
We would like to share our heartbreaking story about our beloved big sister Suzanne and ask for your help to raise funds for treatment to help to save her life. In May 2018, at the age of just 32, our wonderful sister Sue was diagnosed with a grade 4 Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer and along with the journey she has faced she continues to fight for her life. We hope that Sue's story will help to raise awareness about this awful condition that she is currently fighting and we hope that we are able to find a treatment to beat cancer and brain tumours. UK figures suggest that 11,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year. We would like to raise awareness as we have read less than 2% of donations to cancer research is spent on brain tumours. This is also the same condition that the inspiring MP Dame Tessa Jowell was battling but now had sadly passed.
Our story starts towards the end of 2017 when Sue was concerned that her vision was ‘funny’ and that she was feeling increasingly tired and fatigued. Sue never made a fuss and carried on with everyday life and work for a couple of months until she booked herself into the opticians for an eye test where no concerns were raised. Sue continued to have episodes of new symptoms such as numbness, weakness and increased sensation down her left side. Sue continued to go on and eventually booked in to see the GP as she was still concerned about her symptoms. Sue was given routine blood tests and it appeared that she had next to none vitamin D which she was prescribed and taking supplements, but this shown no changes to her symptoms, in fact they continued to get worse.
In May 2018, we heard that Sue was having difficulty writing and grasping with her left hand and eventually she was complaining her skin was very sensitive and sore to touch on her left arm. Sue was quite convinced that her symptoms were related to the vitamin deficiency. It was only when we seen Sue, on the day that we all met to go shopping, that we become increasingly concerned for her seeing how much difficulty she was having to function. We noticed that Sue was slightly dragging her left foot, and on top of all her other symptoms we immediately demanded that she was to go back to see the doctor as we were not convinced that this was a vitamin deficiency causing these symptoms and something much more serious.
Following the appointment the next day, the doctor referred Sue straight to Heartlands Hospital for urgent scans. The consultant then gave us the devastating news that it was a brain tumour. What's more, the tumour was approximately 5cm when it was discovered and situated on the right side of the frontal lobe of the brain, hence the symptoms effecting her left side. Our hearts were completely shattered but we knew we had to stay strong for Sue and hope that she would recieve the best news for her diagnosis. Sue was then referred to the Queen Elizabeth hospital where she underwent further scans an blood tests. We also discovered that day that she had lost the peripheral vision in her left eye as the tumour was blocking her vision. The Neurosurgeons decided the should try to surgically remove as much of the mass and fluid as possible so Sue underwent brain surgery for about 8 hours whilst the surgeons tried delicately to remove and get a biopsy. Sue spent the following 10 days in hospital recovering from her operation and was told that the surgeons could not remove any of the tumour as it was too close to vital parts of the brain, however they were able to obtain a small sample for a biopsy and reduce the fluid on the brain which was aggrovating some of her symptoms. As Sue was recovering in hopsital, we recieved the terrible news that the tumour was malignant. The devostation was unbearable for us all. We could only imagine how Sue was feeling having this cancerous tumour on her brain, a condition so cruel and extremely hard to accept. We will never forget that look of fear and disappointment in her face, and being told that it is incurable and no treatment to heal her. Our whole world turned upside down, feeling helpless and guilt, and yet trying to stay so positive to keep Sue fighting this evil disease because she IS so strong and we know she will not give up fighting until the end.
Since July 2018, Sue had an intensive six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy with the aim to shrink and contain the brain tumour. She continued to have further chemotherapy. Indications are by latest MRI is that the tumour is still growing. Sue is no longer suitable for conventional surgery due to the type and location of tumour. Sue has had the maximum amount of radiotherapy they can offer and is not suitable for any current clinical trails or treatments. With all our hopes shattered an clutching at strings watching Sue still be so positive about the whole situation, right from the start and the awfully hard journey she has done to get where she is today, we owe it to help her fight this disease and prolong life in any way we can.
This is our appeal, we would like to ask everyone to please donate whatever you can to help us to SAVE OUR SUE we would be extremely grateful for your help and generosity, every penny raised will go to either help Sue or towards brain tumour research.
On behalf of Sue and all her family, we would like to thank you in advanced for reading our story and for any donations made. It would be a pleasure if you could leave your contact details so we can thank you personally.
Thank you for reading.
"Please help us save our lovely Suzanne, my eldest daughter, my first born and my whole world. I'v watched Sue turn into a beautiful and talented young woman, so kind and caring, and having the purest of hearts. When we received the distressing news I felt my heart just sink like no words could ever describe. No parent should ever have to hear those words about their children. I will continue to help and support my daughter and keep fighting with her because she is determined to beat this. I pray that my beautiful daughter will be well again. Please help us to save our lovely Sue and give her an opportunity that’s she deserves. By raising funds we can also support others like Sue and their families like ours" - Suzanne's Mum
Fundraising team: SAVE OUR SUE (6)
Katie Melsopp
Organizer
England
Jez Melsopp
Beneficiary
Cadell Melsopp
Team member
Julie Melsopp
Team member
Neil Hamblin
Team member
Rebecca Langford
Team member
