Charity launched in tribute to teenager who vlogged about brain cancer fight
The family of a teenager who shared her hard-fought battle against cancer in a series of inspirational video blogs is launching a charity in her memory.
Charlotte Eades died in February, a week after her 19th birthday, from glioblastoma, a rare and rapidly-spreading form of brain cancer dubbed “the Terminator”.
During her battle against the disease, Ms Eades inspired thousands with her humorous, emotional and frank YouTube vlogs on the ups and downs of life with the disease.
The teenager, from Brighton, East Sussex, won awards from Cancer Research UK and CLIC Sargent, and she continued to vlog almost to the very end of her life.
After the disease stripped her of her speech, and her ability to walk unaided, her death was announced by her mother, Alex Eades, on a vlog titled: “Thank you all – 1997-2016”.
In the announcement, Mrs Eades, 55, said she hoped the vlogs would be a “legacy” to her daughter.
She told viewers: “It is with regret that this will be the last YouTube video for Charlotte.
“Charlotte passed away peacefully at 1.03pm in our local hospital in Brighton. She fought until the last minute and my husband managed to get there 15 minutes before she passed away.”
On Wednesday, Mrs Eades and her son Miles are launching Charlotte’s Battle Against Glioblastoma (BAG) at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion.
The launch of Charlotte’s BAG follows Cancer Research UK’s thought-provoking annual Stand Up To Cancer campaign, of which the Eades family were the official “Sussex” faces.
Their new charity, whose name was partly inspired by Ms Eades’ love of handbags, is believed to be one of the only ones in the UK to specifically raise funds for the research into and awareness of glioblastoma.
Mrs Eades, from Brighton, said: “Losing Charlotte was and still is completely devastating, but the aim of Charlotte’s BAG is to try and make sure that other glioblastoma patients and their families do not suffer in the same way.
“Medics call glioblastoma ‘the Terminator’ because currently there is no cure and the only treatment is to reduce the symptoms and relieve pain for as long as possible. We aim to change this.”
The charity is backed by consultant neuro-oncologist Dr Stergios Zacharoulis, who treated Ms Eades during her illness. He will be leading a new glioblastoma research programme.
He said: “The problem with glioblastoma is that it is extremely aggressive, and current treatments do not touch it. Brain cancer research is incredibly underfunded.
“Only 1% of annual cancer funding is currently devoted to it, and there has been no real progress since the introduction of the drug temozolomide in 1990.”
Proceeds from Charlotte’s BAG will go into research funding via Dr Zacharoulis’s team, who will draw on existing data and protocols on glioblastoma treatment, and research new options and ways of getting treatment to patients faster.
For more information about Charlotte’s BAG, visit www.charlottesbag.com or go to www.youtube.com/charlotteeades
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2016, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) PA Wire.
