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Woman embarks on 99-mile challenge in memory of brain cancer sister

A WOMAN from south Wales is taking on a month-long fundraising challenge after losing her “best friend” and sister to brain cancer.

Healthcare worker Samantha Samways visited A&E in the Grange University Hospital in July 2023 reporting issues of increasingly severe migraines. After suffering a seizure in the waiting room, Samantha was diagnosed with an incurable glioblastoma (GBM), a high-grade brain tumour with an average prognosis of just 12 to 18 months.

Thirty-five-year old Samantha, from Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, mother of two boys aged 10 and seven, died in May 2024.

Her older sister, Stephanie Owens, said: “Sam’s death has turned my whole world upside down.

“Everything was so sudden. We never even knew she had been struggling before she was diagnosed, and then we were faced with a death sentence.”

Due to the location of Samantha’s tumour, doctors were unable to operate. As she battled through radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the tumour began to affect Samantha’s memory.

Stephanie said: “Sam was a phenomenal person. Every day she would write down the names of her children and other members of the family so she wouldn’t forget.

“On the day she passed, she was up and exercising. She always wanted to keep moving and keep going. She never gave up.”

Stephanie is hoping to channel her sister’s fighting spirit as she takes on Brain Tumour Research’s 99 Miles in November challenge. The 3.3 miles (or 8,250 steps) per day can be done by walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, or any other way.  

“Since Sam died, I have been desperate to do my bit to help fight this cruel disease. What the families of someone with a tumour goes through is horrendous, let alone the person themselves,” said Sam.

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“It’s so important more people are made aware of this disease, what it can do, and how quickly it can do it. The lack of funding into research into brain tumours is shocking.”

Louise Aubrey, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “It’s unfortunately not surprising that Samantha was diagnosed so late, with nearly 40% of brain tumour patients being diagnosed through A&E. This highlights the deficiencies in the recognition of the disease, and why more funding is needed so that a greater understanding of brain cancer can be acquired. We are forever grateful to Stephanie for joining us in this fight to 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.

Support Stephanie’s fundraiser by donating here.

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