As she confronts a grave prognosis, Antiques Roadshow expert Theo Burrell has begged for greater money for brain cancer research.
Following the birth of her baby, the 36-year-old disclosed in June that she had been diagnosed with ‘an incurable aggressive grade 4 brain cancer’ the previous year.
The ceramics specialist, who has subsequently had “surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy to keep the cancer under control,” was given only two years to live and informed her “tumour will return and kill me.”
She previously revealed that the news left her ‘devastated,’ as it came while her son Jonah was just a year old.
However, Theo has now joined a petition pushing for increased funding for the condition.
Brain Tumour Research is now requesting that the government set aside £110 million in existing and new funds to kick-start an increase in national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million per year by 2028.
Signing the petition, Theo stated that it was ‘hard not to feel upset’ about the disease’s underfunded research and how it continues to afflict people and families like her own.
‘Brain tumours are so underfunded, and they have such a poor prognosis. Brain cancer seems to be a few steps ahead of us, it’s outsmarting us,’ she wrote.
The expert added: ‘We can get a man on the moon, but we can’t cure brain tumours; it’s so frustrating that funding is so thin on the ground.
‘So many young people get brain tumours, so we need to care for the next generation.’
In December 2021, Theo began experiencing severe headaches that rendered her unable to bend over or lie down.
Over the next six months, she saw several physicians, but none of them could figure out what was wrong with her.
A scan indicated she had a glioblastoma only after attending A&E at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in June last year.
Theo previously stated that she was given steroids to lessen the swelling on her brain, while morphine meant she ‘wasn’t in agony for the first time in months’.
Her specialties include European ceramics, elegant furniture, and paintings from 1860. She joined the Antiques Roadshow crew in 2018.
To sign and share the petition before it closes at the end of October, go to http://www.braintumourresearch.org/petition
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
Antiques Roadshow is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.