Redcar mum shaves head to raise awareness of daughter's rare cancer

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Marilyn Tilburn

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A mum who shaved her head to raise awareness of her daughter’s rare cancer hopes to raise money to help find a cure for the disease.

Marilyn Tilburn, 63, is hoping plenty go along to her fundraising event in aid of myeloma research this Sunday - after her daughter Linze Hallsworth, 39, was diagnosed with the rare cancer two years ago.

Marilyn raised £1,137 for the hematology department at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough when she shaved her head earlier this month.

Her next to target is to top the £2,600 she raised for research into myeloma, a relatively rare blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow’s plasma cells, at last year’s fundraiser.

“I hope that people can come and along and support us,” said Marilyn, who will hold a fun day at Tocketts Mill near Guisborough between 12 noon and 4pm on Sunday.

“It is myeloma awareness week this week, and of course we want to help people understand a bit more about the condition. People can get it confused with melanoma. We would love to raise as much money as we can for research, and one day find a cure for the disease because it is incurable at the moment.”

The alarm bells started ringing for Redcar mum-of-two Linzi, of Redcar’s Mickledales estate, before Christmas 2011 when she started getting neck pain and migraines.

As they worsened, Linzi, process operator husband Scott, and children Middlesbrough College Student Ben, 17, and Beth, 15, who goes to Rye Hills School started to fear a brain tumour.

But she was then diagnosed with myeloma.

Linzi, a pharmacy technician for Clevechem Ltd at Redcar Primary Care Hospital, received intensive treatment and a stem cell transplant in 2012 which left her in remission.

Marilyn continued: “She was only in remission for about a year. She has had a stem cell transplant and is still recovering from that. They have told her that she may be able to have a bone marrow transplant.

“We will do anything that improves her quality of life.”

Sunday’s event will feature stalls, a tombola and raffle, and children’s games.

Marilyn added: “I hope plenty of people come along and we can beat the amount we raised last year. It would be great to have a bit of sunshine to encourage people along as well.”