Teenager from Luddendenfoot helping to find a cure for brain tumours

Lauren Nicholls, 19, was diagnosed in January 2004 shortly after her first birthday. Her parents noticed that she was dragging her right foot, which was originally put down to a muscle imbalance. But, after the fourth visit to the GP, she was sent for a scan and diagnosed with a Pilomyxiod Astrocytoma brain tumour. She had two major brain surgeries within hours of her shock diagnosis followed by chemotherapy – she was too young for radiotherapy.

The treatment was successful and she then had regular scans to monitor her condition. However, the nightmare began once again when Lauren was five-years-old and a scan showed that the tumour had grown. She needed another 11-hour operation followed by the radiotherapy which she was now old enough to have.

Having major surgery at such a young age has meant that Lauren has had to contend with side-effects throughout her life. This includes limited use of her right hand and a limp on her right foot, memory issues, back pain, weakness and fatigue. It also impacted on her ability to make friends during her childhood.

Lauren said: “People tend to not want to be your friend when you’re a bit different. They don’t know how to respond to you and I found that really difficult to deal with. People didn’t understand why I found some things really tricky to do. Now, I am open and honest with people about what I have been through and that has really helped. It’s taken me a long time to get here but now I have really great bunch of good friends.”

Lauren has refused to let her diagnosis hold her back. Alongside regular scans to monitor her currently stable condition, Lauren is at college studying film and media in the hope of pursuing a career in directing or presenting. Becoming a Young Ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity will also give Lauren the opportunity to meet like-minded people who have also been affected by the disease.

Lauren said: “I don’t remember much of my diagnosis and treatment as I was so young but I do remember how scary it all was. Although my care was really good, I hated the needles, I became petrified of hospitals and I didn’t really understand much of what was happening. It was an awful and upsetting time for me as it must have been for my family too.

“Growing up, I really just had to get over the issues I faced and not let them hold me back. But it was a real struggle for me when the Covid pandemic broke out and my mental health struggled so the Young Ambassador programme came along at just the right time for me. As soon as I found out about it I knew I had to apply straight away and I am so happy to have secured a place on the programme. I know that I have to help to find a cure – that’s all that people like me who have a brain tumour want.”

An estimated 86,000 children and adults are living with a brain tumour in the UK today. The Brain Tumour Charity’s Young Ambassadors help to raise awareness of the disease, which is the number one cancer killer among children and adults under 40-years-old.

Young Ambassadors who are aged between 18-25 years old are specially selected by charity representatives to take on the title for two years. They represent the charity by sharing their stories, championing campaigns, attending events, supporting others affected by a diagnosis and helping to raise awareness of the cause and the work being done to find a cure.

In addition, the programme gives young people valuable experience in developing new skills including social media promotion and public speaking as well as opportunities to foster friendships with other people of their own age who have been affected by the disease.

Eve Kelleher, The Brain Tumour Charity’s Head of Services, said: “We are so proud to have Lauren as one of our 21 new Young Ambassadors who play such a crucial role in helping us to raise awareness about brain tumours – the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK.

“Since the two-year programme started in 2014, our Young Ambassadors have played a major role in helping us to shape our young adults service to best meet the needs of young adults and their families, whose lives have been turned upside down by a brain tumour diagnosis.

“Like their predecessors, our fourth group of Young Ambassadors will advocate on behalf of young people affected by brain tumours and are passionate about working with us to give them a more hopeful future. Lauren is no doubt going to be a powerful voice for the Charity by sharing her story, campaigning and representing us at events to amplify our message – ‘A Cure Can’t Wait’.”

Lauren is already full of good ideas on what she wants to achieve during her Ambassadorship from fundraising to lobbying the Government and raising awareness of the need for research into the disease. She is also supporting the charity’s new organic cotton t-shirt range from Teemill emblazoned with the charity’s mission of ‘A Cure Can’t Wait’ to show her support and help raise awareness in a simple and easy fashion.

She also hopes others who affected by the disease will learn from her own experiences so she can encourage them to seek help and support to banish feelings of isolation which a diagnosis can bring.

Lauren added: “Communication is so important. Meeting other people who have been affected by a diagnosis and having a support network around you makes such a massive difference. I found that it is also really helpful to read up on your specific type of brain tumour so you know what to expect. That can help you to prepare for what side-effects there may be so you can have a plan in place for when it happens.

“It is incredibly daunting to be told that you have a brain tumour. Your whole world is just ripped apart. But I want to give something back to the organisation which has helped me so much. I am looking forward to embracing the whole process and, hopefully, this is just the beginning of what I can do to help The Brain Tumour Charity.”

Find out more about The Brain Tumour Charity, and how you can get your own Great Minds t-shirt, visit: https://thebraintumourcharityfashion.co.uk/ Anyone affected by a brain tumour can get in touch for support and information on 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected].