Swadlincote woman 'star jumping' for Brian Tumour Research
Michelle Palmer and son Riley are raising funds to help find a cure for the disease
The '100 Star Jumps a Day in November' challenge came about after Michelle’s uncle, Mark Lewis, died from a brain tumour when he was 57 years old.
Michelle’s family first became aware something was wrong in September 2020, when Mark fell out of his truck and became unconscious.
She says: “A week later, he was sick and had a seizure, so he was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital.”
Father-of-four Mark, who lived in Shrewsbury in Shropshire, had a scan which revealed a mass on his brain. Two weeks later, in October, he was told he had a tumour.
Michelle, also a mum to Robbie, who's 14, said: “It came as a massive shock. Uncle Mark was such a character and was the life and soul of the party. His diagnosis affected the whole family.”
Mark had an operation to remove the tumour, but surgeons were unable to get it all. He then had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but sadly died this August.
Michelle, a teaching assistant at Church Gresley Infant and Nursery School, said: “He was so brave and fought so hard, but the speed at which he deteriorated was shocking.
National charity Brain Tumour Research say, "Tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease."
The initiative has been set up to raise funds to help find a cure for brain tumours.