A courageous woman will be tackling her “crippling fear of heights” by taking on a skydiving challenge in memory of her uncle who died of brain cancer shortly after becoming a first-time dad.
Charlotte West will be taking part in a 15,000ft tandem skydive on May 12 motivated by the memory of her late Uncle Stuart, who was from Shotton Colliery in County Durham and was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) after suffering a seizure in February 2020.
Stuart Dunn was on a flight home from Thailand when he had the seizure, after which it was discovered he had a tumour that was already so large it had moved his brain off-centre.
The lethal form of brain cancer has a heartbreakingly short prognosis of 12 to18 months.
Stuart underwent a debulking surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy but died 17 months after his diagnosis at the age of 58.
His son, Thomas, was only 12 months old when he passed away.
A former Royal Marine Commando, Stuart was described by his niece as having “huge energy and was so much fun”.
"As a marine, Stuart served in the Falklands and did multiple tours in Ireland and Hong Kong. He also had a serious motorbike accident in which he lost six inches of bone in his leg and couldn’t work anymore," said Charlotte.
“Surviving war and a life-changing motorbike accident to be killed by brain cancer shortly after having a baby just isn’t fair.”
She added: “He was described as fearless and looked terrifying as he was more than 6ft tall and covered in tattoos, but he was as soft as a teddy bear.
“I have two sisters and he loved all of us. He’d be at every family occasion - Christmases, weddings, birthdays - and was such a huge part of our lives. It’s been really difficult accepting that he’s gone.”
Charlotte will be fundraising for the Brain Tumour Research charity, which contributes to continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours.
Charlotte said she “couldn’t believe it when she learned how little funding goes towards researching brain tumours, adding: “Just one per cent despite them being the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s.
“The reason people are still dying from GBM is because we don’t know or understand enough about the disease. The more money that can be spent in the labs getting to the bottom of that, the better.”
Community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, Charlie Allsebrook said: “With one in three of us knowing someone affected by a brain tumour, Stuart’s story is, sadly, not unique.
“Brain tumours kill more men under 70 than prostate cancer, more women under 35 than breast cancer and more children than leukaemia.
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‘We’re determined to change that, but we can’t do it alone. We’re really grateful for Charlotte’s support and wish her the best of luck with her jump.
“Together we will find a cure.”
To support Charlotte’s fundraising, visit www.gofundme.com/f/rpz3z-skydive-for-brain-tumour-research.
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