Family of Jarrow girl, five, battling brain tumour appeal to schools, nurseries and businesses to show support with Wear A Hat Day fundraiser

Eleanore Guthrie, from Jarrow, was just four years old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2021.

Now aged five, she has undergone multiple surgeries and since the diagnosis, doctors have discovered she has many life threatening conditions – a huge shock to her parents Karen and Stuart.

Mum Karen, who runs Dinkies Swim School, said Eleanore’s critical medical conditions are due to the tumour’s position.

It has damaged her pituitary gland and hypothalamus, and the five-year-old now relies on daily medication to keep her alive.

Karen said Eleanore, who attends Bede Burn Primary School in Jarrow, will never be able to have the tumour removed, but with treatment it is something she can live with.

She said brain tumours are the largest killers within cancers, and they are the biggest in children and the under-40s and children.

“In our area alone three young children have lost their life to a brain tumour in 2021,” said Karen.

"Without research, we will never beat this disease.”

Karen and Stuart decided to mark Wear A Hat Day on March 25, part of Brain Tumour Awareness Month, with her swim class members, where they could wear any kind of hat – regular or silly – and each donate £1.

They said Eleanore’s school and previous nursery were keen to jump onboard too.

Now the family are encouraging schools, nurseries and businesses to get onboard and help raise money.

The idea is for each person donates £1 to the Wear A Hat Day appeal, organised by the Brain Tumour Research, to raise funds.

The charity said it costs £2,740 for a day in the lab researching potential medicines for the disease, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to it.

Karen added: “Our daughter has been very lucky and will be the first to receive ‘new medicine’ to try and fight her brain tumour battle – this would not be possible without the research that these scientists do.”

Wear a Hat Day, the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month, takes place Friday, March 25.

Anyone who wishes to take part in the fundraiser and make a group donation can email Karen at [email protected]

For more information on the charity, visit https://www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day

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