*NEW 03/02/2023*

Thank you for your incredible generosity in donating to the CopItForDave fundraiser. As many of you know, Dave sadly died on 30th November 2022 after his bravely fought battle with brain cancer. Since then we have been taking time as a family to try and come to terms with everything that has happened over the last 8 months. This has been a traumatic time for all of us - losing someone you love in this way is impossible to put into words. It is hard to imagine life without Dave, but as a family we have lots of love and support from our wider family and friends which is getting us through these dark days.

We launched CopItForDave in October at a point when Dave had already endured several surgeries and was in the midst of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Our hope was that we could use the funds raised towards further treatment that would not otherwise be available to him on the NHS. Unfortunately, Dave's health then deteriorated rapidly in November after he suffered a massive seizure and he did not regain consciousness.

I know that it brought Dave and our family great comfort to see all the thoughtful messages and donations that came through each day on this page. Our plan now is to use these funds towards charities, projects, research and causes that made a difference to our journey (and will hopefully make a difference to the journey of other families who face this cruel disease). Brain cancer remains the biggest cancer killer of children and young adults under the age of 40; it has a notoriously poor prognosis, and research into the causes/treatment is chronically underfunded.

We (you!!) have raised over £32,000 which is just unbelievable! This figure includes the donations on this site and additional fundraising events. We are determined to keep making a difference, and we could not do this without all your support, so thank you,

We will continue to keep you all updated with the distribution of the CopItFund and there is still more fundraising planned over the next few months.

Lots of love,

Jenny, Harry, Rose and all of Dave’s family.

Our Story (October 2022)

Many of you who know Dave will be aware that in June 2022, he was admitted to hospital with a suspected brain tumor. Like many people living with a brain tumour, his symptoms during the preceding weeks were hard to spot (tiredness, dizziness, occasional nausea) and we were a ‘everyday’ family, doing ‘everyday’ family stuff, blissfully unaware of what was to come. We have two gorgeous children Harry (age 6) and Rose (age 3) who kept us both busy and Dave was excelling in his role as an Armed Response Officer for Lancashire Constabulary. A few days after returning from a family holiday to the Lake District, Dave collapsed at home, and after a trip to A&E, doctors discovered a large brain tumour in both the frontal and temporal parts of his brain. At that moment, our lives changed forever – we were told by the doctors that this tumour was “not behaving well” and he was immediately admitted to the Neurology ward at Royal Preston Hospital. In the days and weeks that followed, he underwent four major brain surgeries, a period in intensive care, and several weeks of rehabilitation in hospital. By July we were told the devastating news that Dave’s tumour was a Grade 4 highly aggressive form of brain cancer and that his life expectancy was 12-18 months.

It is hard to put into words the traumatic effect of this experience on our family. But Dave’s strength, courage and dedication in fighting this illness has made us all resolute in beating the odds, and committed to raising awareness of this terrible disease, which kills more young adults and children than any other form of cancer, and yet receives a relatively tiny proportion of cancer funding within the UK.

Throughout this whole journey, Dave, Harry, Rose and I have been surrounded by amazing family, friends and colleagues who have wrapped around us with care and compassion. We’ve been inundated with messages of support, gifts, hospital transport, days out, meals….you name it. Dave is a proud and highly dedicated police officer, who feels a profound sense of identity and belonging to his police family. Throughout this traumatic time, they have been right by our side every step of the way. There are really no words to convey the deep sense of gratitude and appreciation that we feel towards everyone who has supported us.

Last week marked a huge milestone for us all as Dave came to the end of 6 weeks of intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Dave rang the bell at the Rosemere Centre in Preston on Wednesday in front of his family, friends, nurses and police colleagues, who have all witnessed him pull himself through this intensely gruelling, painful and exhausting treatment. We are so proud of him.

Many of you have been in touch to ask about the ways that you can support us, so today we launch CopItForDave. This is not only a place to fundraise but it’s a place to share messages of encouragement and support for Dave, and also a place that we can continue to share our journey with you all.

The NeuroOncology Team at Royal Preston Hospital have been brilliant so far – this specialist team of nurses and surgeons have provided Dave with highly skilled care. However, now that he has completed this phase of treatment we are looking to explore further options, including potential clinical trials and other holistic oncology care. Although these next steps are uncertain, we’ve set up this justgiving page to support this next stage in our journey.

We have also received support (and offers of support) from some wonderful charities including The Brain Tumour Charity, The Ben Fund, and Winston’s Wish, and we hope that CopItForDave will provide a means to raise awareness and funds for these important organisations, and other charities supporting those living with cancer.

Sadly, research on the causes and treatment of brain tumours has not progressed in the way that we’ve seen for some other forms of cancer. The field is chronically underfunded, under resourced, and under-publicised. We want to change that. So we would also like any additional funds raised to be used towards research and clinical trials (that can help improve diagnosis, develop new treatments and improve outcomes), and to raise awareness amongst the public.

If you would like to get involved in any fundraising, no matter how big or small, please get in touch by emailing copitfordave@gmail.com. To follow our journey, please visit CopItForDave on facebook and instagram.

Jenny