Appeal to raise £100,000 for treatment for Bromsgrove 19-year-old who has an inoperable brain tumour - The Bromsgrove Standard

Appeal to raise £100,000 for treatment for Bromsgrove 19-year-old who has an inoperable brain tumour

Bromsgrove Editorial 19th Sep, 2018   0

AN APPEAL has been made to raise £100,000 for a young Bromsgrove woman who has an inoperable brain tumour and needs specialist treatment not available on the NHS.

Charlotte Taylor, 19, was diagnosed with Gilobladtoma (GBM), the most aggressive form of cancer, in February after having prolonged headaches since Christmas.

After seeing her GP the headaches still occurred and she struggled to recognise certain letters and read her texts.

A visit to her local opticians showed both her optic nerves were swollen and she was rushed to The Birmingham Eye Hospital.




The diagnosis there was devastating news for Charlotte and all her friends her family.

Charlotte had a short course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy but her treatment had to be stopped halfway through due to an infection following her biopsy.


At the moment Charlotte suffers with vision and memory problems and has weakness in her right side which has led to limited mobility and she now needs a wheelchair when leaving the house.

As GBM is so rare and is inoperable, treatments are very limited. It is so aggressive because the cells divide quickly, forming masses and tumours.

Optune, which is not available on the NHS but is in Europe, uses electromagnet fields to stop the cells dividing and may destroy them.

It works by placing pads on the patient’s head and the waves are transmitted through those pads.

Charlotte would wear the device on her head throughout treatment which is the same one as Tessa Jowell received.

The treatment costs £21,000 per month which is why the £100,000 target has been set by the fund-raisers.

AJ, Charlotte’s childhood sweetheart, lives with her family on The Oakalls where he helps look after Charlotte and the pair recently got engaged.

Kate Cotterill who lived by The Taylors launched the fund-raising appeal after experiencing her father suffering the same illness.

Since then a variety of fund-raising activities have been set up by Charlotte’s family and friends, including a golf day, coffee morning, charity ball and a sponsored horse race in Worcester.

The total currently stands at just over £37,000 and Charlotte and her family and friends are hoping Standard readers will be able to boost the total.

The next fund-raising event is a bucket collection at Bromsgrove’s Morrisons from 10am to 6pm this Saturday, September 22.

AJ said: “We will be grateful for anything anyone can give to the appeal as all funds will go towards getting Charlotte this treatment.”

Anyone wanting to donate to the title can visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kate-cotterill or paypal.me/cheer4charl and pledge cash there.

For more on the bag pack call Maria on 07973 876612.

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