With a week to go until the UK’s best-loved brain tumour awareness and fundraising day, supporters across the UK are putting the final touches to Wear A Hat Day fundraising events.
Israr Jan-Parker is hoping to get tastebuds tingling and minds mulling at her Curry Quiz Night on Friday 27th March. Her support stems from a passion for turning her personal diagnosis into powerful action.
Having experienced symptoms including back pain and loss of movement in her leg, Israr was diagnosed with a meningioma in May 2022. She was told that, without treatment, she had just nine months to live.
Israr underwent a 16-hour surgery to remove the tumour. She now lives with permanent double vision in her left eye and her eyeball doesn’t move as the rotating nerves were severed during surgery.
She said: “When I was diagnosed with a brain tumour, my world completely changed. The uncertainty and fear are overwhelming, and no family should have to face that without hope for better treatments. Fundraising gives me a sense of purpose. It means something positive can come from my experience.”
Israr’s Wear A Hat Day event is the latest in a series of fundraising events, which have already raised more than £8,500 for Brain Tumour Research. Earlier during Brain Tumour Awareness Month, she placed three tiles of the Wall of Hope at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth. One of Europe’s leading institutions for research into low-grade brain tumours, the Plymouth Centre’s extensive tissue bank has enabled the identification of key genetic mutations across all grades, leading to the development of a pioneering blood test to classify and monitor meningiomas without invasive biopsy, as well as the testing of targeted treatments.
Israr and her husband at the Wall of Hope
“Wear A Hat Day is such a simply but powerful way to start conversations and raise funds. I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported me over the past three years, and I’m asking even more people to get involved this March. Wear a hat, host an event, donate if you can so that, together, we can change the future for brain tumour patients,” Israr added.
There’s still time to plan your Wear A Hat Day fundraising event. It really can be as simple as getting everyone to wear a hat, snap selfies to share on social media and donate £5. However you get involved, you will help change lives.
Get your free Wear A Hat Day fundraising pack.
Related reading:
- Read Israr’s story
- Supporters get ready for Wear A Hat Day
- Discover the research you can help support
