Northampton woman with brain tumour raises £8000 for research

Catherine Heald has raised £8,000 for brain tumour research while being treated herself

A woman who was given a year to live in 2020 has raised £8,000 for brain tumour research while being treated for a tumour.

Catherine Heald, 39, from Northampton, has completed a marathon and a 274-mile cycling challenge.

Mrs Heald said her family thought she was "insane" for the fundraising feat.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer in the country, according to Brain Tumour Research.

Looking back to before she was diagnosed, Mrs Heald said: "There were only the annoying dull headaches where you think 'have I drunk enough?', 'have I had enough rest from the computer screen?'"

Then the headaches started getting worse and she started hearing her "heart throbbing" in her left ear.

Her doctor believed she had an ear infection, and the headaches did disappear for a while.

When they came back, and started getting worse, her husband called an ambulance.

A CT scan revealed a large mass on the left front of her head,

In the middle of a Covid lockdown and allowed no visitors, she underwent a six-hour operation in Oxford.

Catherine Heald had a six-hour operation to remove a brain tumour

The tumour was diagnosed as a glioblastoma multiforme, "the most aggressive you can get", said Mrs Heald.

Weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed, which "I tolerated well and didn't really feel ill, although it did affect my appetite sometimes".

Believing that the funding for brain tumour research was "so terrible", she decided to start raising money.

She said: "I came up with 'Cat's Crazy Charity Challenge' - both my husband and my parents thought I was absolutely insane.

"I wanted to cover 1,206.20 miles to coincide with the day I was diagnosed (12 June 2020) over 17 weeks, which coincides with my last treatment date.

"I had to combine cycling, walking and trampolining.

"The headquarters of Brain Tumour Research are a 10 minute walk from where I grew up, so they are my local charity."

Brain Tumour Research said: "Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

"Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this."

It is estimated there are over 60,000 people living with a brain tumour in the country.