'I will not get to see my baby grow up': Mother’s heartbreak as she opens up about tumour battle
Every day teacher Katie Smith lives with the knowledge that she might not reach her 40th birthday.
Her future is, sadly, far from certain having undergone extensive surgery and treatment for a life-limiting brain tumour.
Time is precious for the award-winning author who is looking forward to a family Christmas with husband Luke and their 18-month-old son Eli.
“It’s impossible to explain to someone what it’s like to be a mum and know you’re not going to be around when your baby grows up.
"But I am determined to be here for as long as I can and I want everyone to know how dreadful this disease is," says the 33-year-old from Stourbridge.
Now she has launched a Christmas appeal to help find a cure for the disease, aiming to raise £5,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity.
Katie was diagnosed with a grade 2 oligoastrocytoma in 2016 after suffering from debilitating headaches.
She has since endured surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy only to be told her tumour is now high-grade.
“It was unimaginable to be diagnosed at the age of 30 as, to me, a brain tumour was synonymous with a death sentence. I’d just come back from my honeymoon with Luke and we had visions of a happy and long life together.
"But now my goals are to be among the 20 per cent of people who live for more than five years after a brain tumour diagnosis," says Katie.
Awareness
When she was first diagnosed, she set about writing a children’s book and was elated to be chosen as the winner of a writing competition on Lorraine Kelly’s ITV show which saw the publication of her story, The Pumpkin Project. All royalties from book sales are going to the charity.
The main character is a kind eight-year-old called Lottie who together with her grandpa sets about growing a pumpkin for a school project and becomes a celebrity in the process.
She is sharing her story of her diagnosis and treatment in order to raise awareness of the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s.
"I want to raise awareness of this devastating disease by launching a Christmas appeal and I hope to inspire people to donate to this vital cause over the festive period.
"It is such a dire situation to think that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”
Carrie Bater, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are extremely grateful to Katie for helping to launch our Christmas fundraising appeal in the Midlands.
"Katie is a remarkable woman – a much-loved teacher, author and mum – and her diagnosis truly shows how indiscriminate brain tumours are; they can affect anyone at any age. I hope people will be touched by her story and give what they can to help this Christmas time. Together we will find a cure.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research Centres of Excellence in the UK; it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.
The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.
To support Katie's appeal got to www.braintumourresearch.org/our-christmas-wish/katie-smith
