A “fun loving, empathetic and generous” young woman has left a legacy of hope, supporting vital research to find a cure for brain tumours after losing her life to the disease.
Bella Depreli was celebrating a bumper year of celebrations to mark her 30th birthday, when her plans took an unexpected turn. She suffered a seizure in August 2025, which led to her being diagnosed with brain cancer.
Bella’s dad, Michael, said: “Bella loved fine food, travel, music festivals and reading. She was an incredible conversationalist with a genuine interest in talking to people from all ages and walks of life. She lived life to the full and was always doing something, being the organiser amongst her friends and making sure the fun stuff they planned actually happened. It became a bit of a joke when I’d ask to meet up with her and she’d say she was booked up for a month. But we had an extremely close relationship and spoke every day.”
Bella and friends
Opting not to find out what kind of tumour she had, Bella had surgery. Weeks later, whilst undergoing intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she took part in our 99 Miles in November challenge, raising more than £11,000 for Brain Tumour Research.
Tragically, Bella’s was not the first brain tumour diagnosis the family had faced – she was just nine when her sister Carmen died of the disease, aged 10. She also lost her mother to breast cancer when she was young.
Bella with her mum and sister
“I am so proud that Bella became such an incredible person despite the hardest start in life anyone could imagine, losing both her mother and sister,” Michael added. “Obviously Bella’s own diagnosis came as a huge shock but she coped extremely well with it. It was later confirmed that she had Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder that increases a person’s risk of developing cancer, which in some ways made it a bit easier rather than it just being bad luck. Being Bella though, it wasn't long before she started to care about how others would feel when she was no longer with us and that they would be cared for and supported.”
Sadly, Bella passed away on 18th May 2026, at the age of just 31.
Now, her legacy is giving hope to other families affected by this devastating disease. A tribute page set up in Bella’s memory has raised £5,000 and Bella also left a £10,000 gift in her will to Brain Tumour Research, which will help fund vital research to improve treatments and ultimately find cures.
Bella and dad Michael
“Bella felt passionate about raising awareness and money for Brain Tumour Research given the disease receives disproportionately little funding compared to its impact and how it affects many young people. She hoped her contributions would make a difference in the future,” Michael said.
“Losing Bella has been very hard not only on her family and colleagues, but also on her extremely close circle of friends who supported her throughout and visited her every single day during the difficult last three months.
“For me personally it’s been devastating. It’s closed a chapter in my life having also lost her mother and sister way too early in life. I miss being able to talk to Bella about everything and anything. I miss the unique jokes and silly things we used to do that nobody else would ever understand.
“The messages and memories on Bella’s tribute page show how much she was truly loved. She lived life to the full and affected so many people in a positive way, and I take great comfort in that. As her half-brother, Leon, said at the end of his eulogy: ‘I hope we can all be more Bella’.”
Bella, Leon and Monty
Bella will be forever in our hearts as we continue our work to find a cure for all types of brain tumours.
This Remember A Charity Week, we’re asking you to consider what difference a gift in your will could make, sustaining and transforming the future of research into brain tumours. To find out more, including how you can have a simple will written for free, or to request a free Gifts in Wills pack, click here.
Related reading:
