Brain tumour patient marks anniversary with month-long challenge

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A Surrey woman is marking more than a decade since she lost the ability to walk due to a brain tumour by taking part in a month-long walking challenge to raise money to help find a cure for the disease.

Lauren Papadopoulos Green, from Ashford, is a week into her 10,000 Steps a Day in February fundraiser in aid of the charity Brain Tumour Research.

The challenge marks 12 years since the social media executive was given just a 5% chance of survival after she temporarily lost the ability to walk and was later diagnosed with a schwannoma.

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In a month of milestones, Lauren, who turns 30 on February 23, said: “There was a time I never thought I’d be in this position let alone be able to walk again so to be walking every day for around two hours each day feels like a great way to commemorate when my brain tumour journey began.”

Lauren is living with a brain tumour and fundraising for Brain Tumour ResearchLauren is living with a brain tumour and fundraising for Brain Tumour Research
Lauren is living with a brain tumour and fundraising for Brain Tumour Research

Following the discovery of a regrowth in April 2023, Lauren was told her tumour had started to grow again. As a result, she experiences myoclonic seizures, which cause involuntary muscle twitches

She is now on a watch and wait and is monitored with six-monthly scans.

Lauren said: “My seizures are irregular and unpredictable which makes getting around very testing sometimes. So far, I’ve managed to get my steps in by walking into town and making sure I hit the target by getting on the treadmill at the gym. I’ll be in Tenerife at the end of the month to celebrate my 30th birthday so sightseeing there will be a sure way to finish the challenge on a high.”

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Lauren turned to video sharing platform TikTok (@laurenpapagreen) to share her brain tumour journey and has raised more than £1,300 for the charity. Despite breaking her ankle, Lauren took part in Skip 10 Minutes a Day in November with the help of family and friends. In September she took part in Walk of Hope.

During her skipping challengeDuring her skipping challenge
During her skipping challenge

She said: “I want to be a person who can support 18-year-old Lauren who had no idea what being diagnosed with a brain tumour meant. Although I never thought I’d be back here, dealing with a relapse, it’s only now that I feel able to get on with my life and I’ll continue to share my own experience and be a voice for the brain tumour community.”

The number of brain tumour diagnoses has increased by 11% in the last decade, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re grateful to Lauren for sharing her story with us so generously. She’s been a huge support to the charity in raising money and awareness of brain tumours which is key if we are to see more investment in research into the disease. We wish her all the best for her ongoing watch and wait and are sending her luck for the rest of her stomps as part of the February challenge.”

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Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and 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 the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Lauren’s 10k Steps a Day in February Challenge please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Lauren1736443115957

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