A woman from Putnoe is marking more than three decades since she was diagnosed with a brain tumour by running workshops and selling hand-made crafts to raise money for the charity Brain Tumour Research.
Laura Peggs, 45, has recreated a pin badge launched by the late Paul Daniel’s wife, Debbie McGee which features a rabbit being pulled from a hat and is sold to raise money for Brain Tumour Research after the magician died from an untreatable brain tumour in 2016.
To mark Brain Tumour Awareness Month (BTAM), Laura will be hosting two craft workshops on Wednesday, 26 March and selling her needle-felted creations at the John Bunyan Museum.
When Laura was 10, she was diagnosed with an ependymoma. She underwent surgery and radiotherapy which has kept her tumour stable for almost 35 years.
Despite this, she lives with hemiplegia, which causes paralysis on one side of her body, epilepsy, chronic pain, and sight loss in one eye and she now uses a wheelchair full time.
“Helps me focus”
“When I was a child, I sewed, did cross-stitching and jewellery making. Needle felting is relatively new for me but something I enjoy,” said Laura.
“I’m very resourceful and always find a way to do things. I attend a local arts club where I’ve met some great people, and it helps me to forget about all the things I can’t do and focus on what I’m able to do.
“I’m needle-felting the rabbit in a hat with one hand and each one takes me around four hours.”
Laura explained the inspiration for the design, saying: “Paul Daniels was very prominent in my childhood. Growing up in the north he was a local hero for me and I used to watch him on the TV.
“I love animals, and rabbits specifically, so I used this as inspiration for my needle felting.”
As well as her fundraising for BTAM, Laura also advocates for disability awareness. In 2022, she took part in the Brain Tumour Research 10,000 Steps a Day in February Challenge and raised £700.
“I had my treatment in the 80s and once had to travel hours from the northeast of the country to London for an MRI scan,” said Laura.
“Medical intervention has come a long way in those years but there’s still more to do if we are to offer less invasive procedures and therapies for patients living with a brain tumour.
“I often feel survivors’ guilt after losing friends to the disease and I wish research into brain tumours was recognised as a priority. People don’t realise that whilst brain tumours can be low-grade as well as cancerous if you survive, then there’s a chance that you will live with life-long disabilities.”
Devastating disease
BTAM is an annual campaign that runs throughout March, with a packed programme of activities to raise vital awareness and funds to help find a cure for all types of brain tumours.
The month-long campaign culminates in Wear A Hat Day which takes place on Friday, 28 March and this year is supported by Novocure.
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re grateful to Laura for her continued support in raising awareness and campaigning.
“Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age and there are more than 100 different types of brain tumour, making them notoriously difficult to find effective treatments for.
“If reading Laura’s story has inspired, you to help fund the fight to find a cure for this devastating disease you can find out what is coming up during BTAM and beyond by visiting our website.”
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.
You can donate to Brain Tumour Research via Laura’s Brain Tumour Awareness Month fundraiser here.
