A DETERMINED mum living with an incurable brain tumour has helped to launch a national campaign targetting a cure for the disease.
Gemma Edgar, 32, was a paediatric nurse at Colchester General Hospital until she was forced to take an early retirement when cancer struck.
The mother-of-two was just 29 when she received the shocking news, just eight weeks after giving birth to her second son Noah, now aged three.
She refused to take the diagnosis lying down, undergoing surgery to remove much of the aggressive tumour followed by six weeks of radiotherapy.
To make matters worse, she also coped with the fact her son Noah underwent surgery and treatment for cancer of the eye.
“I won’t ever be able to say I am in remission,” she said.
“I had to have further surgery back in November when it reoccurred.
“I am now on chemotherapy and feeling positive.”
She added: “I could just hide myself away under the duvet, but I don’t want my boys to have bad memories of mummy crying all the time.
“I cannot stand by without doing all I can to change the chronic underfunding into brain tumour research.”
The reoccurance of her tumour came just one week after Gemma found out that she would be running in the London Marathon, but she said she was still determined to take part in the fundraiser.
Gemma is working with the national charity Brain Tumour Research to support his year’s Wear A Hat Day on Thursday, March 29.
Together with husband Rob and parents Andy and Barbara, all from Colchester, Gemma joined businesswoman, model and brain tumour survivor Caprice Bourret at the charity’s headquarters to launch the campaign.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but only one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the devastating disease.
Funds raised through Wear A Hat Day 2018 will develop the charity’s network of world-class brain tumour research centres in the UK.
To get involved, or to donate, visit wearahatday.org or text HAT to 70660 to donate £5.
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