A much-loved man who is undergoing treatment for an aggressive brain tumour has inspired his wife, daughter and sister to complete a long-distance walking challenge to help find a cure for the disease.
Father-of-two Stephen Overton was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in March. Having undergone a debulking surgery and six weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, he is now part-way through a six-month course of chemotherapy.
Inspired by Stephen’s experience, his wife Kim, daughter Holly and sister Kara took part in the London Summer Walk on Saturday 26th August. They walked a 25km loop from the Woolwich Royal Artillery Barracks to Greenwich in just over six hours to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research. Kara’s friend, Karly Leeder, also joined the group in support of Stephen.
Kim said: “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it was liberating. You meet a lot of people on the walk who are raising money for different charities and hearing their stories was heartbreaking but also humbling.”
The group has raised more than £4,000 collectively to help find a cure for the disease.
Kim added: “Finding out how many people are affected by brain tumours and that just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to researching them left me astounded. We should be doing so much more. People shouldn’t be dying at the rate they are, it’s heartbreaking.”
To support Kim’s fundraising, please click here to donate to her JustGiving page.