Esmé Lambert was diagnosed with a high-grade ependymoma when she was just one year old. She underwent eight hours of gruelling surgery and two years of treatment including intense and brutal chemotherapy over a period of 18 months which her mum Wendy says “totally hammered her body and immune system”.
“Before Esmé’s diagnosis, I didn’t know anyone who’d lost a child but since we’ve got to know 11 families who have gone on to lose a child, most to a brain tumour, all of whom had become one of Esmé’s friends – the latest just last week,” said Wendy.
Esmé will be three years post-treatment in May, but her family has been told that the tumour could come back at any time within 10 years. She has regular MRIs to monitor her tumour and assessments to check for issues including development, learning capacities, hormones, balance, coordination and eye sight involving endless hospital appointments.
Shocked at the lack of treatment options for her daughter, Wendy gives a regular donation to Brain Tumour Research. She is encouraging more people to do the same to help improve treatments and, ultimately, find a cure for the disease.
She added: “It’s easy to think that your family won’t be affected, but brain tumours are indiscriminate and can strike at any age – as our family learnt during the nightmare we have been living since October 2018. With greater funding into vital research we can help change the horrendous statistics so that children and adults have a real chance of surviving this devastating disease and scientists can discover more effective treatments which don’t leave brain tumour patients with terrible, life-lasting side-effects.”
To find out how a monthly gift of £5, £10, £25 or £50 supports our vital work to find a cure for brain tumours and to set up your regular donation today, click here.
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