At age 12, Tyler suffered from bad headaches and sickness.
Initially, doctors thought Tyler was suffering from migraines, until his symptoms became much more concerning.
Following an MRI scan, Tyler was found to have a large brain tumour and immediately received surgery to remove as much as possible.
Unfortunately, it was considered too dangerous to remove all of the tumour without risk of damage.
‘Initially I wasn’t too worried about having a brain tumour, the worst part was having double and blurred vision’ said Tyler.
Tyler received a further 6 operations on his tumour, however the after effects of cancer treatments left Tyler struggling to cope. He suffered balance issues and although he could walk with crutches he could only manage half an hour before being confined to a wheelchair.
Along with steroid induced obesity he had very little vision in his left eye. He also suffered 7 months of daily sickness until doctors changed the shunt to drain fluid from his brain.
‘I wished I could hide until I got better, I hated the way other children stared at me for being different’.
Despite his struggles Tyler worked hard to lose weight and strived to be able to walk again. He regained some fitness, however the hardest thing to cope with was his poor vision. Tyler had a an operation at Moorfield Eye Hospital Sadly however following three operations he had to accept that his vision would never improve.
After fighting so hard to regain his fitness it was a blow for Tyler that his health deteriorated again and in 2014 he had to undergo another operation and 6 weeks of radio therapy.
In 2016 Tyler suffered a stroke which left him with a severe left side tremor and numerous complications.
Despite his immense problems Tyler remains positive and has been instrumental to Joss Searchlight in increasing awareness and supporting other children like him.
Camille was diagnosed with a brain tumour
£10
A gift of just £10 could help give support to a family who are struggling with a new diagnosis
£25
A gift of £25 per month could pay for a days pioneering research into rare brain tumours
In the last few years 300 young children have lost their lives to this devastating cancer
Despite killing so many children, DIPG receives just 0.0005% of cancer research funding.
As a charity, we depend entirely on voluntary donations. Your Gift enables us to fund pioneering research and to offer support for people affected by brain tumours.
In the last few months we have managed to fund hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of research that could make a massive difference to children with DIPG and their families.- because of your help.
Lilly 10/02/13 - 04/03/21
FAMILY SUPPORT
Along with providing financial grants to help families struggling with the expenses of having a child with cancer we also provide life changing support.
Support Workers who advise, visit and support families with compassion are an essential part of Joss Searchlight.
Family support is in our DNA, as the founding trustees know what an important part compassionate support played in helping them during their son’s illness and after his sad death.
We can’t fund research and we can’t support families without you.
FINDING A CURE
At Joss Searchlight we totally depend on donations. Donations enable us to fund vital brain tumour research, to find a cure for some of the rarest brain tumours, to campaign for better treatments and support families on their cancer journey when they need it most.
Research organisations need funding stability, they need to know that they have enough money coming in every month to allow them to do their incredibly important work. We need to pledge a certain amount of funding every year to make sure they’re able to do everything they can to find cures and treatment programmes for some of the hardest-to-treat brain tumours.
Children should enjoy their childhood
Not spend their lives fighting cancer
Help us find a cure for rare brain tumours. Give your support today
