A Brain Tumour and Me

In this latest episode of our podcast, we hear from Denise Bebenek, who lives in Toronto, Canada. How can a mother ever fully come to terms with the loss of their child? This is something which Denise faced when she and her family were given the devastating news that her four-year-old daughter Meagan had an inoperable brain tumour. Meagan eventually lost her life soon after her fifth birthday. In this episode, Denise talks to our reporter Graham Seaman about the effect of this tramautic event on her and her family, as well as the power of community. Her daughter's brain tumour journey also inspired Denise to establish the not-for-profit Meagan's Walk in 2001 - now known as Meagan's Hug - which raises both awareness of paediatric brain tumour research and vital funds - as well as creating a Circle of Hope to support families affected by a brain tumour. “A Brain Tumour and Me” is available via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, CastBox, Anchor and the IBTA website at www.theibta.org/podcast.

Being told she had a very rare type of brain tumour at the age of just 27 is something Miranda Shipman from North Carolina in the United States certainly wasn't expecting. But it was an event that reshaped her life in so many ways. In this episode Miranda talks to our reporter Graham Seaman about how she coped with the news of her first diagnosis and the surgery that saved her life. Miranda describes what happened when she discovered the tumour had later returned, and how she now faces the future. “A Brain Tumour and Me” is available via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, CastBox, Anchor and the IBTA website at www.theibta.org/podcast.

In this episode we meet singer/composer Christine Hals from Norway who lost her step-father to a brain tumour. Christine will be talking about how her love of music, performing in Disney's Frozen and Frozen 2movies, and scoring her very first feature film have helped her cope emotionally with loss, while also discovering hope in the darkest of times. Photo: Svein Finneide - sffoto.no

This third episode of “A Brain Tumour Tumour and Me” features Rwanda's first and only female neurosurgeon, Dr Claire Karekezi. Dr Karekezi is a consultant neurosurgeon based at the Rwanda Military Hospital in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. She has a special interest in neuro-oncology, skull base surgery and endoscopic endonasal surgery. In this IBTA podcast, Dr Karezezi talks about her journey to become a neurosurgeon, why she is so inspired by her brain tumour patients and how she hopes to help improve the quality of care in Rwanda.

The second episode of “A Brain Tumour and Me” features American neurosurgeon, author and researcher Dr Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa who talks about his remarkable journey from the humblest of beginnings in Mexicali, Mexico to becoming a renowned neurosurgeon and neuroscientist. Dr Quiñones-Hinojosa is the William J and Charles H Mayo Professor and Chair of Neurologic Surgery and runs a basic science research lab at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Dr Quiñones-Hinojosa's research work focuses on brain tumours and cell migration, healthcare disparities and clinical outcomes for neurosurgical patients. In this latest IBTA podcast, Dr Quiñones-Hinojosa reveals the dramatic, life-changing accident he had at age 21 and how his brain tumour patients have inspired his work.

We begin our series with author and broadcaster Doctor Stuart Farrimond from Trowbridge in England who's been talking to our reporter Graham Seaman about his own experiences of living with a brain tumour, how it offered unexpected opportunities to do things he'd never have dreamt of before diagnosis, what having the support of friends and family truly means, and – as a science communicator - he shares his personal hopes for the future of neuro science and surgery.