A BRAVE Honeybourne woman is sharing her story about her battle with brain cancer in order to highlight the ‘chronic’ underfunding of the disease.
Kate Hickman, 35, has decided to speak out during Brain Tumour Awareness Month to shine a light on the fact that just one percent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease, despite it killing more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
She is currently undergoing radiotherapy plus six rounds of chemotherapy with three different drugs.
Kate was diagnosed with a Grade 3 Oligodendroglioma last year after suffering a seizure ‘out of the blue’ in June. After her friends and family encouraged her to see a doctor, she was given a brain scan where a ‘massive shadow’ was discovered.
Doctors then rushed Kate into surgery, telling her that there was a 10 per cent chance she wouldn’t survive the operation, but without it she had only days or weeks to live.
“This time last year, I had cold after cold and felt a bit run down and now I’m battling cancer,” Kate said.
“It was nothing you would associate with a brain tumour, just some silly mistakes like arranging train journeys and then finding that they didn’t actually get me to where I needed to be on time.
“I am usually very, very organised so this kind of thing was extremely unlike me. I suppose they were signs that my brain was becoming unable to cope.
“There was so much pressure in my skull that the centre line of my brain was no longer straight, now having a distinct kink in it. At best, they said, they could only remove about half of the mass because of its size and spread, as it was in a butterfly shape.
Kate is now working with the national charity Brain Tumour Research and is urging Vale residents to take part in the UK-wide fundraising event, ‘Wear A Hat Day,’ on Friday, March 31.
“I want to help change things,” says Kate, “so I am also leaving a legacy to the charity in my will.”
To get involved, or donate, visit www.wearahatday.org, or text HAT to 70660 to donate £5.
