Teaching assistant Stacey Duffy is raising funds and awareness to give back to charity
Stacey Duffy, 48, of Goole who is living with a brain tumour(Image: Stacey Duffy)
A teaching assistant from Goole is about to put her best foot forward to help a charity whose support she sought after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. In Stacey Duffy’s words, “it’s not just a walk, it’s a celebration of survival”.
The 48-year-old mum was diagnosed with optic nerve meningioma in 2021. She underwent a craniotomy the same year and as a result lost the sight in her right eye.
“I have just recently, in October, had radiosurgery to hopefully stop the tumour from growing any more,” said Stacey, who has been on a phased return to work with SEN children at Delta Academy, Goole, and is due to be back to her normal shifts after the February half-term holiday. “Unlike radiotherapy, radiosurgery is one big blast.
“The tumour has grown since my first diagnosis and hopefully this forms scar tissue around the tumour to stop it getting any bigger. Then it will be a case of regular scans just to check everything.”
A wife and a mum to a 19-year-old son, Stacey’s connections to The Brain Tumour Charity began shortly after her diagnosis. “They provided a community when I felt most isolated, offering resources that bridged the gap between medical treatment and emotional recovery,” she said.
“I have taken part in many events for the charity, including the London Marathon in 2024. They are more than just physical challenges; they are a way to reclaim my body and show others that a diagnosis doesn’t define your physical limits.
“The diagnosis was a turning point, but not the end of my story. As a teaching assistant and a brain tumour survivor, I am turning a personal battle into a public mission by participating in the upcoming Twilight Walk.” The event, on Sunday, March 1, is a 15K walk that starts at the Vikings in Goole and follows the Ouse and Howden Loop.
“It’s called The Twilight Walk because it traditionally starts in the late afternoon and continues as the sun sets,” said Stacey, who will be joined in the challenge by about 15 friends and family members. “Fitness is often the first thing people think you lose when you’re ill.
“Even when you have constant fatigue, when you’re battling a brain tumour, you often feel like you’ve lost control over your own body. But for me, it’s about proving that even when your body feels like a battlefield, you can still find strength and achieve anything.”
Stacey’s current goal is to “raise as much as I can” and she has a JustGiving appeal page set up. She would dearly love to reach her overall target of £10,000 – since diagnosis she has raised over £5,765.
“I’m most looking forward to the energy we will all have at the start,” she said. “There is a profound sense of ‘collective strength’ when you’re surrounded by people all joining you toward the same goal: a cure.
“And they are the ones who give you the strength to keep going through the tough days. I am forever grateful to have such wonderful friends and family by my side.”
Stacey started to experience symptoms of a “fuzzy head, like when you’ve been drinking” and migraines which she thought were brought on by stress at work. When she got a “weird sensation” in her eye and “kind of lost focus”, she went to her optician, who found the tumour.
“It’s not what I expected; it was quite a shock,” she said. “Up until then I’d not heard of anyone else having this; it’s not a common cancer.”
Stacey said: “I’ve made some really close friends through The Brain Tumour Charity. My mission is to keep the conversation going until brain tumours are a thing of the past.”
She was looking forward to a “good natter” to get her round the Twilight Walk, which she expects could take about four-and-a-half to five hours. “As the event nears, the anticipation is building,” she said.
“It’s not just a walk; it’s a celebration of survival. Looking beyond the finish line, beyond this event, I plan to continue advocating for patient wellness, ensuring that future survivors have the community and resources they need to thrive.”