A Mansfield woman spoke about her father’s terminal brain tumor and how his symptoms appeared “like a thrown switch”. Amy Bradley’s father, Michael Bradley, 63, was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) in October of last year.
Michael, known as Mick, received a “devastating” diagnosis and was told he only had 12 to 18 months to live. In 2016 Mick’s brother David Bradley of Shirebrook sadly died of the same type of tumor when he was 64.
Amy, 28, spoke about her father’s dire diagnosis, saying: “To be told Dad only had 12-18 months to live with treatment was devastating. I felt sick and thought ‘what has my dad done to deserve this?’
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“GBMs are one of the most devastating forms of cancer, so why is so little known about them? We are on a mission to fund research so that better treatments and a cure can be found.”
Last September, Mick fell ill while answering the door for one of his friends.
Megan Bradley, Mick’s other daughter, told Nottinghamshire Live what it was like when she got sick. The 26-year-old said: “Dad suddenly had a chronic headache and was vomiting violently. It was so sudden, like someone had thrown a switch.
“He had never had anything like this before. Dad was taken to Accident and Emergency at Chesterfield Royal Hospital where an MRI revealed that he had tumors on the right side of his brain.”
On October 7, two days before his birthday, Mick was taken to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and had a biopsy done. He then underwent a six-week course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Weston Park Cancer Center in Sheffield.
In early January this year, he was admitted to Chesterfield Royal Hospital with a pulmonary embolism after experiencing severe pain on his right side. She is no longer receiving chemotherapy, but is trying an alternative therapy.
Both Amy and Megan plan to raise £10,000 for the Brain Tumor Research charity. On Friday March 31 they will participate in Wear A Hat Day.
On top of this, Megan recently completed the 10,000 Steps A Day challenge in February, and she and Amy will take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge on June 3.
Both sisters work at Cygnet Health Care, which is hosting a fundraising family day as part of Wear A Hat day at the Shirebrook cricket club, where Amy’s manager, Samantha Armstrong, will sit in a bath of baked beans. for three hours to raise funds.
Amy said: “We are so grateful to the small businesses and everyone in our local community who have come together to support us. Without them, we would not have the fight in us that we have today.
“We wanted to channel our emotions and turn them into something meaningful because raising money and raising awareness is so important. My dad had no warning, just boom! and he suddenly he had cancer. Something has to change and the government must do more to combat this devastating disease.”
Wear A Hat Day is set for the last Friday in March. The day encourages people to wear hats of all shapes and sizes. More than £2 million has been raised over the years as part of the charity’s fundraising, which has helped fund brain tumor research.
Matthew Price, Community Development Manager at Brain Tumor Research, said: “We are so grateful to Amy for participating in Wear A Hat Day, as only with the support of people like her can we advance our brain research.” . tumors and improve outcomes for patients like Mick who are forced to battle this terrible disease.
“People can participate in Hat Day in so many easy and fun ways that the list is truly endless. Wear a hat and host a walk, party, quiz night, or bake sale. Or put on your thinking cap and come up with something totally unique.”
Also, this March is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. Brain Tumor Research announced a £2.5 million funding deal to help find a cure for the deadliest childhood cancer.
The grant is awarded to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), in Sutton, Surrey, where a team of scientists led by Professor Chris Jones will form the charity’s fourth Center of Excellence for Brain Tumor Research.
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