A BRADFORD mum-of-two who underwent an operation to remove a cancerous brain tumour is organising a charity fundraising event now she has recovered.
Amy Lyons, of Wrose, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour and underwent an awake craniotomy over nine hours at Leeds General Infirmary in May 2016.
After surgery and treatment, Amy is cancer-free and back at work at the Rockwell and Wrose Health Centre where she was diagnosed.
Now she and best friend Vicky Clifton will host the fundraising event to support The Brain Tumour Charity.
They will host their own big bake on Saturday, April 25, at Bolton Villas Church.
Amy has supported the work the charity do since her own diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Their fundraiser is part of the charity’s The Big Bake 2020 that starts during the national Brain Tumour Awareness Month of March (BTAM).
She is mum to Megan (17) and James (14) and a stepmum to Jessica (13) and Lilly (11). She also has the support of her partner Andy Hatton.
Amy says: “I’d never even heard of anybody with a brain tumour before I was diagnosed. It just wasn’t on my radar. Then people started popping up here and there and everywhere with them and my own experience touched many others around me."
Looking back, Amy explains her symptoms had been going on for several months “but I just didn’t think anything of it. It was like standing up quickly and you get that woozy rush, a bit light headed. It was that sort of feeling without bending down. I just put it down to hormones or not eating".
“Other people started to notice it and said it was like I was ‘switched off’ for a second or two.
“I was at home one day and I had one of these moments and I saw myself in the mirror and thought ‘I don’t like that!’ It was almost like a stroke, with my face dropping a bit.
"The doctor said he thought it was some sort of epilepsy but I didn’t realise there were so many different types.
“After they sent me for a scan, the surgery rang me two days later and asked me to go in and everything just fell apart from that moment.”
Amy was scheduled for an awake craniotomy (she was awake for four hours) and endured a nine-hour operation in total to remove the tumour, now known to be a cancerous grade 3, in May 2016.
“When I was told it would be an awake craniotomy, I was horrified. They explained the reasons why and I understood but for me, it sounded like a horror movie. They did offer me to speak to other patients but I though everybody’s story is different and I’ll just get on with it.
“Strangely, it actually wasn’t as bad as you would think. We’ve got photos of me on the operating table with the nurses laughing with thumbs up!”
Courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed and since August 2018, Amy has had to have six-monthly scans.
Amy is now back at work at the doctor’s surgery that diagnosed her brain tumour back in 2016. Along with best friend Vicky, their Big Bake sale hopes to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity and reach out to others in the community affected by this disease.
Their fundraising page is at justgiving.com and search for Amy Lyons and click on Amy and Vicky's Big Bake.
Their event is part of the charity’s national ‘The Big Bake’ campaign, launching today.
Every day, 32 people in the UK are diagnosed with this devastating disease. By taking part in The Big Bake, supporters will be helping to raise funds for vital research and life-changing support for people who are living with brain tumours and who urgently need a cure to be found.
Francesca Towson, head of community fundraising at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We are so inspired by Amy’s story and together with Vicky, their huge efforts in raising funds and awareness.
“We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of people like Amy and Vicky and all their family and friends, that we can bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.
“As the UK’s foremost brain tumour charity, we are leading the way in fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work and we couldn’t achieve this without the incredible efforts and determination of all our supporters.”
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