Anna was just 23 when she was told she had a brain tumour. Understandably devastated and angry, she nevertheless held her head up high and decided she would live her life, however long it might be, to the full. She met her wonderful partner Andy and they were due to marry on Saturday 17th September but, very sadly, Anna passed away in the early hours of the morning on Friday 16th September.. She was always a fighter. Initially told she may have as little as three months, Anna was given hope by neurosurgeon Kevin O’Neill, who leads the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Imperial College. She left her first consultation with him in “tears of happiness” not because he had changed her diagnosis but because they would fight “Trev”, as she dubbed the growth in her brain, together. Anna underwent surgery followed by the gruelling regimen of radiotherapy and
A Tribute to Anna from Brain Tumour Research Chairman chemotherapy which, inevitably, took its toll. She suffered from the excruciating tiredness, dreadful sickness and hair loss known all too well to other cancer patients and those who care for them. As her enviable long blond tresses fell out, she acquired a couple of wigs and admitted she would much rather live without hair for the rest of her life than give in to the tumour. Bright, vivacious, kind, and beautiful, Anna was one of those to whom others are naturally drawn. She had a great sense of fun and a marvellous joie de vivre. After graduating with a first class degree in languages and European studies, she had plans to learn Mandarin and there is no doubt she had the brightest of futures ahead. A month after her diagnosis, Anna started the blog Inside my Head. She was characteristically open about her situation when she met and fell in love with Andy and so excited as they set up home together and planned their wedding. She had hoped there would be a family in future but, after being told this might be impossible because of her treatment, she and Andy welcomed their beloved puppy, Enid, into their lives and Anna described her as “my baby for now.” To Andy and her family, Anna was still “Anna” and not “Anna with a brain tumour”. This was important to her although she never shied away from reality, giving her time selflessly through interviews to help raise awareness of the disease and the appalling lack of funding to improve outcomes for patients. She proved herself to be a great fundraiser too, showing a gritty determination as she set herself the target of raising £100,000 for the Brain Tumour Research Campaign in order to help Kevin and his team at Imperial continue their pioneering work. Anna was proud to stand alongside the national charity Brain Tumour Research, telling MPs of her experience and helping to shape the Petitions Committee report Funding for research into brain tumours. Another bright light has gone out. Another young person has been taken by a brain tumour, this most cruel and crippling of cancers which kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other … just 1% of the national spend has been allocated to this devastating disease. Anna loved the fact she could make a difference and certainly did that and I am so proud I had the opportunity to know her. Wendy Fulcher, founder Brain Tumour Research & campaign, chairman