Charlotte Hillyard’s daughter, Jess, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2023 aged three. Knowing the importance of peer-to-peer support, Charlotte and her husband, Lee, set up Walking Warriors Essex earlier this year to bring together families of children with cancer to share their feelings and experiences.
Louise Robinson is a neuro-oncology outreach nurse specialist at East Midlands Children’s and Young Persons’ Integrated Cancer Service. Here, she emphasises the importance of collaboration and explains how a support pathway helps young patients with their education.
Diffuse midline glioma is a devastating brain tumour, affecting primarily young children. There’s currently no cure for this disease and treatment options are limited. This is mainly because this type of tumour is well-protected from drugs by the ‘blood-brain barrier’. This barrier physically blocks all medications from entering the brain. Our group has developed new methods of bypassing this barrier using focused ultrasound.
Sophie Barclay was 15 when diagnosed with a brain tumour, making schooling and exams difficult. Now 18, she tells us how, with the support of her school, she has received a conditional offer for university.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped scientists propose a promising new drug combination for DIPG brain tumours. Prof Chris Jones, Director of the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and Dr Fernando Carceller, Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Consultant at The Royal Marsden Hospital, tell us more.
Exploring alterations in amino acid metabolism as novel therapeutic targets in paediatric glial tumours using advanced metabolomics methods
Emily Piszton was diagnosed with a type of brain tumour called craniopharyngioma in 2022, aged 11. Now 12, Emily explains how her tumour and its treatment caused her to gain weight, and what she did in response to this.
Saskia Wells was diagnosed with a brain tumour, aged 16. Now 18, she tells us about being one of the first patients in the UK to receive one-to-one exercise therapy support through the Active Hospitals project, funded by Public Health England and Sport England, at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Jake Heasman was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was two years old, leaving him visually impaired. He tells us how his experiences of cancer helped drive him on to sporting success.
