A BEREAVED York mum is fundraising to help find a cure for brain tumours just two months after the death of her daughter.

Mum of two Sally Harris lost her 34-year-old daughter Rachael to a brain tumour in April after a four-year battle with the disease.

Sally, from York city centre, is holding a Wear A Hat Day with Flowers event in memory of Rachael, for Brain Tumour Research.

Rachael Harris, an RSPCA animal carer, was 30 when she received her devastating diagnosis. Sally said: “Rachael and her partner Steve were living at home with me, my husband Alan and Rachael’s older brother Chris in July 2017 when, early one morning, Rachael had a seizure in bed. We called for an ambulance, which came and transferred her to York Hospital. When we arrived, she was having more seizures, so they had to stabilise her before taking her for a CT scan.”

Doctors initially suspected Rachael had suffered a stroke and she was admitted to the stroke ward before a more detailed MRI scan was carried out the following day. The scan revealed she had a large brain tumour.

Sally said: “We were all so shocked. Rachael was slim, didn’t drink a lot, ate a healthy vegetarian diet and had never smoked. She loved her job as an animal carer at the York RSPCA Animal Home. It was her dream career. She immediately asked whether she’d be able to work again, as that was her main concern.”

A few days later, Rachael and her family met her surgeon, Dr Chittoor Rajaraman, at Hull Royal Infirmary. He explained that whilst they could operate on the tumour, they wouldn’t be able to remove all of it, due to its location in her left temporal lobe and the fact that it was diffuse.

Sally said: “Rachael’s six-and-a-half-hour surgery was on 16 Aug 2017 – my birthday. I got the best birthday present possible, when Rachael came out of recovery with a smile on her face. The fact that she recognised us straight away was an encouraging sign. Later, we found out that Dr Rajaraman had managed to remove around 60 per cent of the tumour.”

The histology from Rachael’s operation revealed she had a grade 2 astrocytoma. Although they are initially slow-growing, they have a tendency to progress to a higher grade over time. Rachael underwent 30 sessions of radiotherapy at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, followed by a course of PCV chemotherapy.

Sally said: “As well as the sickness and extreme tiredness caused by the treatment, Rachael had to deal with the fact that it would make her infertile. They’d attempted to freeze her eggs beforehand but it was unsuccessful and they didn’t have time to try again. It was such a great shame, as she and Steve would have loved to start a family.”

After her chemotherapy, Rachael was able to go back to work and back to enjoying life for the next couple of years. However, in December 2020, her health took a turn for the worse, when she began suffering from debilitating headaches.

Sally said: “Early in 2021, her consultant got in touch to say her latest scan images showed the tumour had grown. She re-started chemotherapy, this time Temozolomide (TMZ), which could be taken in tablet form at home.

“By February, however, her headaches were no better, so they did another scan, which confirmed more growth and they said it inoperable. Rachael and Steve were in the process of buying a house. Rachael’s consultant urged her not to go ahead with the purchase. We knew what this meant and it was very upsetting. He advised them to take their savings and go on holiday. Rachael replied: ‘where?!’. We were in the throes of a national Covid-19 lockdown and even a trip within the UK was illegal. In normal times, I’m sure she would’ve taken his advice.”

Another scan in March revealed the tumour was growing very aggressively and Rachael was suffering from an increasing number of seizures. On March 31, she had a particularly bad seizure, so her family called for an ambulance and she was taken to hospital.

Sally said: “Rachael’s brother, Chris, works as a porter in York A&E and he was on duty that night. After we arrived, he was taken off shift, as it became apparent just how critical Rachael’s condition was. Rachael’s heart stopped in resus and the room filled with 20 or so medics, who kept bringing her back to life. The amazing trauma team persisted but her heart kept stopping and eventually, the time between each cardiac arrest was getting shorter and shorter and her brain was being starved of oxygen. She died at 2.31am on April 1.”

Still coming to terms with her tragic loss, Sally is taking part in Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Hat Day with Flowers, which takes place on June, 18 during British Flowers Week. The charity is encouraging people to don their best floral hat creations, from petalled Panamas to blooming berets, flowery fedoras to botanical beanies, and get together – virtually or in person – to raise funds to help find a cure.

Sally’s local community pub, The Trafalgar Bay, is hosting the event. There’ll be cakes, crafts including a flower crown-making workshop and, of course, flower-adorned hats. The fundraiser will finish with a pub quiz in the evening.

Sally said: “Through our own tragic experience, I’ve learned just how common brain tumours are among young people and how little funding goes into this area of cancer research. This just isn’t good enough. My beautiful daughter was young, with her whole life ahead of her and she, like too many other brain tumour patients, had her future torn away from her by this cruellest of diseases.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Matthew Price, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research said: “We were so very sorry to learn about Sally’s loss. Our hearts to go out to her and to all those who knew and loved Rachael. We must do better to ensure more families don’t have to suffer in this way.

“Wear A Hat Day with Flowers is back for a second year by popular demand and is the perfect way for people to bring friends, work colleagues or loved ones together and celebrate, whilst raising funds to help find a cure for brain tumours.

“We are really grateful to Sally and The Trafalgar Bay for their support. Increased investment in research is vital if we are to improve outcomes for patients and ultimately, find a cure.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the 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 calling 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 and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.

Whilst Covid-19 restrictions still apply, the charity is reminding supporters to observe safety measures when planning their events. Families, friends, workplaces and schools can still come together safely, virtually or in-person where restrictions allow, to raise money for this vital cause.

For information on Sally's fundraiser and to register go to braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day-with-flowers

To donate to Brain Tumour Research, go to www.braintumourresearch.org/donation/donate-now and share your reason as ‘Rachael Harris’.