City of Portsmouth College lecturer shaves her head in solidarity after sister diagnosed with brain tumour

Amy Dixon has raised £2,258 for The Brain Tumour Charity with the challenge, which is honour of Laura Thomas-Dixon, a married mother of a one-year-old son, who had a rare form of brain tumour, an oligodendroglioma, diagnosed last November after exhibiting symptoms of a brain tumour such as headaches and seizures.

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‘It’s a massive struggle… a young mum, a first-time mum, on maternity leave finding out you’ve got a brain tumour is frightening really. It’s not an expected thing to happen,’ Amy said.

‘I wanted to show my support, that I’m her sister… although I’m not going through the experiences, if I can raise money and try and help with the charity, try and get more support for her, that's what I’m going to do.’

All the funds will be going towards The Brain Tumour Charity, a non-profit that funds brain tumour research, hoping to aid a better understanding of the condition.

For the City of Portsmouth College healthcare team leader, this is not her first time raising money for charity, having previously swam 44 miles over 12 weeks for a diabetes charity on behalf of her nephew

She has also previously supported the Brain Tumour Charity’s Twilight Walk, and Rowans Hospice on behalf of her grandad who died from pancreatic cancer.

Her mum, Jan Dixon, 64, previously also a health and social care lecturer at CoPC, now an online tutor, was there to support Amy throughout the process, saying the two sisters had always been very close, amongst five total siblings.

‘The first thing [Amy] did was ask Laura’s permission, and she was ok with it. Out of all the siblings, Laura and Amy are the closest,’ Jan said.

‘We’ve done the Twilight Walk, and we support the Rowans. She has a history of being a lovely daughter.’

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. The Brain Tumour Charity supports patients and their families if diagnosed with a brain tumour, and also funds research into cancer and its treatment.