The Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth is opening its doors to supporters today.
Brain tumour patients, their loved ones and those who have lost someone to this devastating disease have been invited to tour the lab, meet the scientists searching for a cure and place tile tributes on the Wall of Hope.
Amongst the supporters visiting the Centre is Victoria Watson-Bradley (pictured), who was diagnosed with a meningioma in 2016. Meningioma is one of the low-grade tumour types that the pioneering team at Plymouth is investigating.
Since undergoing surgery to remove the tumour, Victoria suffers with debilitating seizures which she says leave her living with “daily fear”. She also takes three different types of medication and is no longer allowed to drive.
She said: “I thought surgery would be the end of it, but how wrong I was. My life has changed beyond all recognition since my diagnosis.”
It will be a unique opportunity for Victoria to talk to the scientists about their work to find a cure for the disease she has been diagnosed with, including the progress they are making in the hunt for a reliable non-invasive blood test to help diagnose and classify meningiomas. Work which it is hoped will potentially spare patients risky surgery.
Victoria added: “I know that although I was told my brain tumour was slow-growing, there is the very real potential for it to grow back and it would be amazing if scientists could discover a way to stop or slow down the regrowth.”
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