A MERIDEN woman living with an aggressive brain tumour who set up a fundraising group has raised almost £26,000 to help find a cure for the devastating disease.
Hannah King-Page set up Hannah’s Kingdom, after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour in November 2020 – the most commonly diagnosed aggressive brain tumour in adults which has an average survival of just 12-18 months.
The diagnosis came about after Hannah suffered with seizures, leading to surgery and gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which sadly forced her to give up her dream job as a physiotherapist.
The 41-year-old and her mum Norma Thomas, were invited to the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London to find out how their fundraising is helping support scientists leading the way in research into GBM.
Since her diagnosis, Hannah has taken on a variety of fundraising challenges including completing the Solihull and London Landmarks half marathons and tackling Brain Tumour Research’s Jog 26 Miles in May, as well as a firewalk held at her local pub, The Strawberry Bank, along with many of her friends from Balsall Common Run Club.
Next March, she is looking forward to taking on the Trek Sahara 2025.
Hannah said: “I was disgusted to discover after my own diagnosis that treatment for brain tumours hasn’t changed for 20 years and that just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.
“Setting up Hannah’s Kingdom has allowed me to try and find a focus and make a difference for people diagnosed with brain tumours in the future – tragically they devastate too many families.”
The pair were given the opportunity to tour the labs at Queen Mary University of London, led by principal investigator Professor Silvia Marino.
They spoke to scientists about their work to find a cure for the disease and placed five tiles in recognition of funds raised by Hannah’s Kingdom and representative of the £2,740 it costs to fund each day of research on the Wall of Hope.
Four of the tiles were dedicated to Hannah and the fifth to Linda Goode who died from a GBM in January this year – one of many friends Hannah has connected within the brain tumour community.
Hannah added: “Linda was a very special person and brought light and love to so many. Her personality was infectious. Linda was diagnosed a year after me, so I only knew her a short time.
“It was a great experience to see and hear from the scientists about the work being done in their quest to find a cure, which can’t come soon enough.”
Louise Aubrey, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really grateful to Hannah and all her Hannah’s Kingdom supporters for their incredible support and generosity.
“We hope that Hannah’s visit to our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London offered a useful insight into all we’re doing to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.
