A young brain tumour patient is appearing on the backs of buses and on digital display screens nationwide as part of a charity campaign to raise awareness of the disease.
Betsy Griffin, 10, from Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, is one of the four faces of this year’s Wear A Hat Day campaign.
It is hoped her poster, which will feature on 400 buses and more than 100 digital screens throughout the UK in March, will encourage registrations to the Brain Tumour Research charity’s flagship fundraiser, held at the end of Brain Tumour Awareness Month.
The event, which asks people to don their favourite hats, hold hat-themed events and make donations to help find a cure for brain tumours, has raised more than £2 million since being launched 15 years ago and will take place this year on Thursday 28 March.
Betsy’s mum Rochelle, 40, said:
“It was an honour for Betsy to be asked to take part in this campaign in the same year the charity celebrates its 15th anniversary. We hope it helps increase registrations for Wear A Hat Day, which is a fun way to support a really important cause.”
Betsy, who is now blind, was diagnosed with a low-grade optic nerve glioma at the age of two after developing nystagmus, a condition that causes involuntary eye movements. She endured 18 months of chemotherapy before having a biopsy and going on targeted treatment, which she remains on today.
The youngster, who became a YouTube star after posting inspirational videos of positivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, requires lifelong hormone replacements and is being monitored with regular scans having undergone a debulking surgery in 2021.
Rochelle, a secondary school teacher, said:
“It’s been heartbreaking watching everything Betsy’s had to go through, but she never ceases to amaze us with her positive attitude and strength of character.
“Betsy’s Positive Videos, the YouTube channel she persuaded her dad and I to help her set up during the first lockdown in 2020, now has almost 5,000 subscribers and a book she created about positivity, kindness and hope was turned into a modern-day collection of fables, Out of the Woods featuring a foreword by broadcaster Fearne Cotton, and released through HarperCollins Publishers in 2022.
“She’s never let her brain tumour hold her back and we’re really proud of everything she’s achieved so far. We think she’s a really inspirational girl and hope her poster inspires others to take part in Wear A Hat Day to help raise vital funds for research into brain tumours.”
The other faces of the campaign include the charity’s patron, Antiques Roadshow expert Theo Burrell who is living with a glioblastoma (GBM); its supporter ambassador Sam Suriakumar who is currently undergoing chemotherapy following progression of his glioma; and drag star Eddie Adams who has a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma.
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said:
“Wear A Hat Day takes on different themes each year, but to have patient supporters feature in our 2024 campaign is particularly special. Their stories serve as a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of brain tumours, which can affect anyone at any time. We’re determined to change this, but it’s only by working together we will be able to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.
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.
For more information on Wear A Hat Day, or to register to take part, visit www.wearahatday.org.