*** Total raised as of 21.01.24 £161,217.44! ***

See below for offline funds list.

My lovely kind brother, David Gibbs, 37 years old from Bristol, was experiencing severe headaches for a couple of months before being diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM), a diagnosis none of us expected. This is a grade IV aggressive brain tumour and the outlook is poor, average survival time from diagnosis is just 12-18 months. As you can imagine our worlds have been turned upside down.

Following two biopsies in September 2021, Dave then underwent an 11 hour operation to remove as much of the cancer as possible. His fantastic NHS surgeon managed to remove 95% of the tumour from the centre of Dave's brain but it will grow back. The position of the tumour makes it even more rare. Dave has made a good recovery although his vision is impaired. Despite all of this, he hasn't once complained or let it diminish his fighting spirit.

Following surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, standard NHS treatment is 6 weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed by 6 months of just chemo. This is buying him time but is not a cure. Dave is also taking an additional drug as part of a clinical trial into improving treatment of GBM. His course of radiotherapy will finish 31st December 2021, and so far he is tolerating this rigorous treatment regime fairly well, as well as managing his Type 1 Diabetes.

Dave is a much loved Daddy, husband, son, brother, uncle and friend, and we need to keep him around. Dave's wife Gemma is heartbroken, they met at school and have been together 20 years, they have a beautiful 3 year old daughter, who adores him. They are a loving, happy family and have always worked hard but are unable to fund alternative treatments by themselves. Please donate and help give Dave the chance to beat this tumour. We love him so much and want him in our lives for as long as possible.

That's where this fundraising page comes in. There are other treatments available for GBM, such as immunotherapy, this includes personalised cancer vaccines. These work by taking cells from the patient's specific tumour and creating a vaccine which teaches the immune system what to target and attack. This is then injected into the patient every 4-6 weeks over the course of approximately 1 year. These personalised vaccines have had positive results, some people have gone into remission and long exceeded their initial prognosis. But these treatments are not available on the NHS or via private health insurance and are very expensive.

We hope to have tumour sequencing analysis carried out, to enable better targeting of drug treatments and to have a personalised cancer vaccine produced for Dave. This is available privately in Germany and America. So along with the cost of the treatments there will be travel and accommodation costs when going back and forth.

We plan to hold fundraising events, such as comedy nights, cake sales, sponsored bike rides and community food stalls. Please contact us if you have fundraising ideas or if you can hold a fundraising event for us.

Any unused funds will be donated to brain tumour charities to help support other families and fund much needed research.

Dave is not one to ask for help, instead always offering to help others and putting others before himself. But now, we need your help, every donation big or small can make a huge difference and is greatly appreciated.

PLEASE share this page, give what you can and spread the word. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Sarah (sister), Dave & all the family xxxx

10.01.22 Update on Dave and what we've found out so far:

Dave has now completed his 6 weeks of chemo with radiotherapy. He’s shown such strength and determination during this difficult time. He's been fatigued, fighting nausea and sickness, and has lost some of his hair. Despite this, he continues to have a positive outlook and be an active husband and father.

Dave will restart chemotherapy in February for at least 6 months, we hope this new regime is not too hard on him and any side effects will be manageable.

Through further research and talking to a brain tumour charity with experience of these treatments it has come to our attention that the actual cost of treatment is considerably higher than we initially anticipated. So with this in mind we have had to raise the target so we can get Dave the treatment he needs to change the prognosis. We sit with tears in our eyes as we try to comprehend achieving the increased target, knowing we simply cannot fail. We can't imagine life without Dave.

Dave's blood samples and MRI scans have arrived in Germany and his tumour sample is due to be collected and sent for analysis in the coming days. Once the clinic in Germany receives the tumour samples it will be approximately 4 weeks before we get the analysis results. This should enable better targeting of drugs and tell us if they can make a personalised cancer vaccine for Dave. We eagerly and nervously await the results.

PLEASE help us to keep the donations coming in by spreading the word, continuing to share this page and supporting our events if you can, thank you xxxx

16.06.22 📣 UPDATE FROM DAVE: 📣

Hey all, time for another update…

Firstly thank you to everyone for your continued support, without your generosity we would not have reached the incredible amount of over £130k raised so far.

Thanks to your kindness I last week went to CeGaT in Germany for the first four of my personalised vaccines. These vaccines will hopefully begin to train my body to attack the tumour. It’s all about building up the number of T-cells able to fight the tumour and to achieve this I will be going back to Germany every 4-6 weeks for additional doses of the vaccine.

I’m feeling much more positive having been to CeGaT and met the team of Doctors & staff there. Starting my chemo cycle next week feels less of a strain now.

The brilliant DBF team continue to create events for you all to enjoy, coming up we have; a steeplechase night, cakes, ice creams and a possible variety show!

Although my treatment has started, we continue to fundraise to cover both the vaccine administration and any supplementary drugs which may help to beat this thing. Unfortunately many of the drugs being recommended by the doctors in Germany are not yet available on the NHS.

I can’t say it enough, thank you so much for your ongoing support and encouraging words x

20.12.22 🎉 Update from Dave: 🎉

Apologies, it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update.

My treatment in Germany is going really well. Recent test results show my body has responded very well to the personalised cancer vaccine. This ties up with my latest MRI scan which shows the tumour has shrunk again.

At the moment I’m not on chemo, my liver tests have been a bit high so I had to give my body a break. I’ve just seen a liver specialist who has run some tests and then I had a liver biopsy but hopefully following the results I’ll be back on my chemo soon.

This could well be my last round of chemo anyway, my body seems to be suggesting it is.

My treatment path moving forward is yet to be finalised but based on advice from my Oncologists in the UK and Germany I will need to self fund further alternative medications. This is where your incredible generosity and support really makes a difference…

£150,000!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us reach the incredible amount of £150,000 raised in just over a year.

There are so many people who I need to thank; friends, family and the wider community as a whole.

There are too many names to list them all here but special thanks to Sarah, Jal, Lisa, Stu, Laura, Bob, Nick, Darren, Jane, my Mum and her friends, all that have taken on challenges and those who held events to raise money. Thank you to all that have donated, attended events or sponsored a challenge.

The fundraising will be slowing down now but as the full treatment path/cost is still unknown there will be some events coming up in the new year (any unused funds will go to brain tumour charities).

Thank you again, your support means the world to us.

Merry Christmas everyone x

04.02.24 UPDATE FROM DAVE:

"Sorry for the radio silence…

Sometimes you just need some space, some time with family (whether blood or chosen/friends). My life advice; spend time with those you love.

Today is #WorldCancerDay and we’re thinking of everyone dealing with a cancer diagnosis, battling through treatment and those living with the loss of a loved one.

Now an update on my journey:

I’ve been to Germany a few times since my last update. The news I got was unbelievable, something I didn’t expect to hear. The tumour has continued to shrink and is no longer visible. Yes the most brilliant news BUT with the caveat that the scan (better than anything available in the UK), still can’t see everything so there may be microscopic cancer cells hiding. But the best news we could possibly hope for!

This isn’t over yet, there are still side effects from the treatment that I am having to deal with. Currently I am having injections in my eyes to try to stop retinal damage!

We don’t know what the next steps are, we would love there to be a test that could tell us it is gone. For now we plan to continue treatment and monitoring in Germany. We are currently trying to work out costs to get more vaccines manufactured in Germany and how often to receive them.

A massive thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way, and for the continued love and support from our wonderful friends and family.

The battle is not over but we will enjoy this stage while it lasts.

Please support cancer research."

(Please see updates section below for further updates)

For transparency, we are listing the money raised offline so far. Thank you to everyone involved in raising the offline funds and for the kind generosity. These funds have not been paid into the JustGiving page because we would pay a 2.9% fee on each of them.

Kind neighbour £1000

Giggle4Gibbs comedy night £701.44

Just Quizzing for Dave's Brain Fund, raffle ticket sales and bucket collection money, £508.01 (The ticket sales money minus fees has been paid into the page)

Jaleelah Galbraith's squatathon sponsorship £1442.70 (fees deducted)

Shanna Prowle's walking sponsorship £669.84 (fees deducted)

Zenshin Dojo's Iain Abernethy karate seminar £1900.76

William Page Court afternoon tea event £470

Walk/Run 2022km team sponsorship £2,830.01 (fees deducted)

Intuita sponsorship matching £2943

Jalentine's day £75 (Jaleelah Galbraith's birthday donations)

Mokka and The Grapevine Brasserie raffles, The Foresters and The Trident, and bucket collections £449

Further family donations £10,800

Nick Webb and Darren Kellett's SAS challenge £1653.66 (fees deducted)

Family FUN-draiser £2144.28

Brick and Craft Show £2417.14

Mangotsfield United FC bucket collection £276.69

Fishponds Royal Mail fancy dress £471.49 and bucket £230.93

Style Collection raffle £140

The Gym Longwell Green £200

Just Quizzing 2 raffle £239.88

Vegas raffle £328

Jane Anstruther's Jubilee ice cream sales £170

Running everyday in May for Dave sponsorship £250

Just Quizzing 3 raffle £93 (Ticket sales paid via JG page)

Luke Beedle & Sweet Treats competition £277.75

Giddy-Up For Gibbs £690 (Race sponsors and some raffle tickets via JG)

Claire and Bill Graham's cycling sponsorship £1,319.35

Nick, Darren, Andy & Ben's cycling sponsorship £8,745.68 (fees deducted)

Gigging For Gibbs £729.88

Jaleelah Galbraith's Rowvember challenge £600

Downend Round Table £5000

Christmas at Cleeve Wood Road Shops £850

Roll Back The Years Disco tickets £260 (raffle via JG page)

Kind neighbour £50

Goulds Domestic Services collection £90

Family Fun with Paddington Bear! £1140.90

Acton Aid event ice cream sales £300.70

Marshfield Ice Cream and Cake Sale £756

For further updates on Dave & information about our fundraising events follow us on:

Facebook @donate4dave https://www.facebook.com/donate4dave

Twitter & Instagram @davesbrainfund

#donate4dave #davesbrainfund https://linktr.ee/davesbrainfund