{"id":68012,"date":"2023-09-19T11:49:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/?p=68012"},"modified":"2023-09-19T11:49:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:49:47","slug":"a-single-mum-asks-her-brother-to-raise-her-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/lifestyle\/a-single-mum-asks-her-brother-to-raise-her-daughter\/","title":{"rendered":"A single mum asks her brother to raise her daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"
A single mother who had a baby using donor sperm has asked her brother and his wife to raise her daughter – after being given just two years to live.<\/p>\n
Emma Postance, 42, from Baughurst, Hampshire, had her little girl, Alice, two, in April 2021 – after deciding to have a baby on her own via sperm donor.<\/p>\n
The mother-of-one was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour – in October 2022, after experiencing severe headaches and spells of confusion.<\/p>\n
She initially thought her symptoms could be a flare up of her multiple sclerosis (MS) but was shocked to find out she had a mass the size of a conker growing on her brain.<\/p>\n
Emma had surgery in November 2022 to remove the tumour – followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Emma Postance, 42, from Baughurst, Hampshire,\u00a0asked her brother and his wife to raise her daughter – after being given just two years to live<\/p>\n
But was told that she had exhausted all treatment options and given just two years to live.<\/p>\n
She is now thinking about her daughter’s future without her and has asked her brother, Andrew, 44, a mechanical engineer and his wife, Jessica, a chartered environmental engineer, 43, to raise Alice.<\/p>\n
Emma, a former stockbroker, said: ‘I asked the consultant if this thing is going to get me and without hesitation they answered yes.<\/p>\n
‘Maybe two years, maybe a little less or it could be more.<\/p>\n
‘All I could picture was my then one-year-old daughter – who was likely to become an orphan by the time she started school.<\/p>\n
‘The following weekend, I sobbed with my brother, Andrew, and his wife, Jessica, and asked if they’d bring up Alice for me and they both immediately agreed.<\/p>\n
‘I want nothing more than to watch my daughter grow up but it’s too late for me.<\/p>\n
‘I want Alice to have the best possible future and options.’<\/p>\n
Emma – who lives with multiple sclerosis – was diagnosed with an ovarian tumour in 2019 after going for a fertility check up.<\/p>\n
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She is now thinking about her daughter’s future without her and has asked her brother, Andrew, 44, (second from left) a mechanical engineer and his wife, Jessica, (sendong from right) a chartered environmental engineer, 43, to raise Alice\u00a0alongside their children – Freya, 11, Heidi, 10, and Lauren, seven<\/p>\n
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Emma’s brother Andrew (pictured) agreed to raise her daughter Alice alongside his own children in Wales\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The mother-of-one was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour – in October 2022, after experiencing severe headaches and spells of confusion<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She initially thought her symptoms could be a flare up of her multiple sclerosis (MS) but was shocked to find out she had a mass the size of a conker growing on her brain<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She started experiencing severe headaches and spells of confusion, while she was on holiday in Spain – which she originally put down to her MS<\/p>\n
She started experiencing severe headaches and spells of confusion, while she was on holiday in Spain – which she originally put down to her MS.<\/p>\n
A CT scan confirmed that Emma had a mass the size of a conker growing on her brain, and she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in October 2022.<\/p>\n
Having exhausted the NHS standard of care currently available to brain cancer patients, Emma has been ‘forced’ to fund private immunotherapy treatment in Germany and raised more than \u00a360k.<\/p>\n
Emma said: ‘I wasn’t going to sit and wait for the cancer to come back. I’ve been angry and frustrated that treatment in the UK is so limited.<\/p>\n
‘This is because the government hasn’t prioritised the research funding into brain tumours like they promised.’<\/p>\n
Since her diagnosis, Emma has had to come to terms with the fact she won’t be able to watch her daughter grow up.<\/p>\n
After her prognosis, she asked Andrew and Jessica, from Cardiff, Wales, to bring up Alice alongside their children – Freya, 11, Heidi, 10, and Lauren, seven, who adore their cousin.<\/p>\n
According to the Brain Tumour Research, just 12 per cent of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 54 per cent across all cancers – yet just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours.<\/p>\n
Emma said: ‘I’ve learned that there is no one size fits all when it comes to the treatment of brain tumours.<\/p>\n
‘Glioblastoma is a disease so deadly it’s known as ‘the terminator’ in the medical world.<\/p>\n
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Emma had surgery in November 2022 to remove the tumour – followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Emma had 25 staples post surgery and eventually she was told that she had exhausted all treatment options and given just two years to live<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A CT scan confirmed that Emma had a mass the size of a conker growing on her brain, and she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in October 2022<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Since her diagnosis, Emma has had to come to terms with the fact she won’t be able to watch her daughter grow up<\/p>\n
‘It’s a fast-growing brain cancer that can affect anyone at any age and comes with a grim prognosis.<\/p>\n
‘They are complex which means to understand how to treat and cure them, we need the funding to research the disease.’<\/p>\n
Emma is now campaigning alongside the charity Brain Tumour Research to help reach 100,000 signatures on its petition to increase research funding, in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n
The charity is calling on the government to ring-fence \u00a3110million of current and new funding to kick-start an increase in the national investment in brain tumour research to \u00a335 million a year by 2028.<\/p>\n
Brain Tumour Research wants the government to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority.<\/p>\n
It says the increase in research investment would put brain tumours in line with the spend on cancers of breast, bowel and lung, as well as leukaemia.<\/p>\n
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Emma said she wanted nothing more than to watch her daughter grow up but it’s too late (pictured with Alice at three days old)\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Emma beamed for a snap after Alice’s birth at St Thomas’ Hospital in April 2021<\/p>\n
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Emma is now campaigning alongside the charity Brain Tumour Research to help reach 100,000 signatures on its petition to increase research funding, in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate<\/p>\n
Glioblastomas are the most common cancerous brain tumours in adults.<\/span><\/p>\n They are fast growing and likely to spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n Glioblastomas’ cause is unknown but may be related to a sufferer’s genes if mutations result in cells growing uncontrollably, forming a tumour.<\/p>\n Treatment is usually surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by a combination of radio- and chemotherapy (chemoradiation).<\/p>\n It can be difficult to remove all of the growth as glioblastomas have tendrils that extend to other regions of the brain. These are targeted via chemoradiation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Glioblastomas are often resistant to treatment as they are usually made up of different types of cells. Therefore, medication will kill off some cells and not others.\u00a0<\/p>\n The average survival time is between 12 and 18 months.<\/p>\n Source: The Brain Tumour Charity<\/span><\/p>\n Emma said: ‘I shouldn’t have to advocate for myself, let alone travel overseas to find something that may work.<\/p>\n ‘I know it won’t save my life. I know what I’m up against.<\/p>\n ‘The last few months have been consumed by putting a will in place and making plans for Alice for when I’m not here.’<\/p>\n Mel Tiley, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: ‘We are grateful to Emma for supporting our petition and helping to raise awareness.<\/p>\n ‘Her story is deeply sad and equally shocking.<\/p>\n ‘For too long governments have put brain tumours on the ‘too difficult to think about’ pile.<\/p>\n ‘Five years after the Government announced \u00a340 million for brain cancer research, less than \u00a311 million has been spent.<\/p>\n ‘Patients and families continue to be let down by a funding system that is built in silos and not fit for purpose.<\/p>\n ‘If everyone can spare just a few minutes to sign and share, we will soon hit the 100,000 signatures we need and help find a cure, bringing hope to families whose loved ones have been affected by brain tumours.’<\/p>\n