A family is desperately trying to raise up to £500,000 to secure pioneering treatment abroad after their 12-year-old son was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.
George Fox began to experience symptoms including headaches and vomiting in April. After multiple visits to the GP, opticians and A&E, he was finally given an MRI scan which showed a 5cm tumour on his brain. Devastatingly, biopsy results following a 10-hour surgery revealed George’s brain tumour was an aggressive glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
After learning that treatment options in the UK are limited, the family has launched an appeal to raise up to £500,000 to fund pioneering treatment abroad.
Louise said: “We launched a crowdfunding appeal which to date has raised close to £195,000. We have been blown away by the generosity of friends, family and complete strangers. We are also so grateful to the charity Brain Tumour Research for helping us raise awareness and for its work to find more effective treatments and ultimately a cure so families in the future won’t have to look abroad for help, like ours.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are very sorry to learn about George’s diagnosis and feel the family’s pain at not being able to find effective treatments on the NHS to give him the best chance.
“Just 12% of brain tumour patients survive beyond five years as compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.
“Brain Tumour Research is funding scientists working to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure so that patients and families don’t have to raise extraordinary amounts to seek pioneering treatment abroad.”
To help George get treatment abroad, please visit the Gorgeous George’s One Big Fight GoFundMe page.
Related reading:
- George’s story
- Read about the vital research we fund
- Donate to Brain Tumour Research inspired by George
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