The family and friends of a man who died from a brain tumour last year have marked what would have been his 60th birthday by raising more than £2,000 for Brain Tumour Research.
Father-of-five Mick Hansford was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in 2020. At the end of his radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, in November of 2020, he contracted COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator. After returning home and learning to walk again, Mick sadly lost his fight against his brain tumour on 13th May 2021.
On New Year’s Day, Mick’s wife Jackie, five children Victoria, Rebecca, Harry, Georgie and Elizabeth, as well as Mick’s four grandchildren, Courtney, Ted, Arnie and Enzo, were joined by a number of family and friends for a fundraising walk to mark Mick’s 60th birthday. They followed a 10km route along the Southsea seafront in Portsmouth.
Jackie was interviewed on BBC South Today after the walk where she explained how “uplifting” it was that around 60 people had joined in and that Mick would be “very proud” of their efforts to help find a cure.
Mel Tiley, our Community Development Manager, said: “We’re so sorry to hear about Mick’s diagnosis and his family’s devastating loss. We’re incredibly grateful to Jackie and the Hansford family for choosing to fundraise in his memory, on what would have been a milestone birthday for a much-loved husband and father. The family’s experience reminds us that research is desperately needed to help better understand brain tumours and ultimately, fund a cure.”
To support the family’s fundraising, please visit their JustGiving page here.
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