Dulwich banker to walk 99 miles for Brain Tumour Research

Bella Depreli, from Dulwich, began her milestone year in Costa Rica and attended a festival with friends.

However, her plans were abruptly halted when she experienced an unexpected seizure and was diagnosed with brain cancer.I don’t want to be just another statistic. I’m maintaining hope for myself and others who are diagnosed with this disease. (Image: Brain Tumour Research) Despite the diagnosis, Ms Depreli is determined to make a difference.Just weeks after undergoing surgery to remove the tumour, Ms Depreli is participating in a charity challenge to walk 99 miles in November for Brain Tumour Research.

She is undertaking this challenge while simultaneously undergoing six weeks of intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.

Ms Depreli who is a vice president at UBS, said: "It was a real shock to be diagnosed with brain cancer.

"Apart from the seizure, I felt and still feel okay in myself.

"I remember waking up on the floor of the shopping centre in Battersea not knowing what had happened and laughed in disbelief when my friend told me I’d had a seizure."

In a tragic twist, Ms Depreli was just nine when she lost her sister to the same disease more than 20 years ago.

Doctors initially suspected the well-travelled banker was suffering from neurocysticercosis, an infectious disease often contracted in exotic countries.

Ms Depreli said: "My mum died of breast cancer when I was younger and during an appointment with the oncologist, my dad laid out the extent of our full family history.

"They couldn’t tell us if there was a link."

Ms Depreli has already raised more than £7,000 for the charity and has postponed her remaining birthday plans, including a trip to India, due to her diagnosis.

Bella and friends: Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer, yet just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002 (Image: Brain Tumour Research)

She said: "I’ve always been active and when I saw the challenge, I thought, I could do that distance in a month.

"Not many people realise how little money is invested in research into brain tumours which is why supporting Brain Tumour Research is so important to me.

"I don’t want to be just another statistic.

"I’m maintaining hope for myself and others who are diagnosed with this disease."

Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer, yet just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Bella’s story is a reminder that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age.

"We are particularly shocked to learn of her sister’s death decades earlier.

"If we are to understand the disease, we must invest in research into brain tumours.

"It’s only with the support of people like Bella who is taking on one of our Facebook challenges, that will help us closer to find kinder treatments and eventually a cure for all types of brain tumours."

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK.

It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.

The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Bella’s 99 Miles in November Challenge, please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Bella1730572445947.