Fighting for More Time

We all know life is finite.

But nothing prepares you for being told exactly how little time you might have.

I’m Kimberley, 35, a mum to my amazing three-year-old twin boys, Max & Freddie, who I’m unlikely to see grow up.

In January 2026, my life changed in one afternoon. I was hit suddenly by a severe headache, vomiting and lost feeling in my hand. After visiting A&E, a scan revealed a high-grade, incurable brain tumour.

Doctors told me that without urgent surgery, I had weeks to live.

Days later, I underwent a craniotomy. Most of the tumour was removed - but it was confirmed as a grade 4 glioma, which will grow back.

Why I’m fighting

My boys are too young to understand what’s happening. I’m not ready to leave them. I’m not ready to stop being their mum, I’ve got to fight this with everything I’ve got!

The treatment I’m receiving on the NHS - radiotherapy and chemotherapy - is not a cure and hasn’t meaningfully changed in nearly 30 years. For glioblastoma, 95% of patients do not survive five years.

Time is everything to me now and the greatest gift you could help give.

Why I need your help

My NHS treatment will come to an end soon, unfortunately there are no further options available to me in the UK.

But there are experimental treatments elsewhere that could give me more time - time with my boys, my family and my life.

I have been approved for a personalised immunotherapy treatment at a specialist clinic in Cologne, Germany (IOZK). It works by training my immune system to recognise and attack the tumour.

It is not a cure - but it offers the chance that I get to see my boys grow up.

To access this treatment, I need to raise £200,000.

All funds raised will pay for my treatment, any reasonable associated costs at the IOZK clinic and follow-up care.

This is my best chance to keep fighting.

How you can help

I never imagined I would be asking for help like this.

But today, I am asking - from one family to another - if you can support me.

Every donation will bring me closer to the hope for more time with my boys.

If you’re not able to donate, sharing this page would be hugely appreciated.

The reality of brain cancer

Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, yet it receives only around 1% of research funding.

• 87% of patients die within five years

• For glioblastoma, it rises to 95%

Behind every statistic is a family like mine.

Any unused funds for treatment will be donated to brainstrust to progress the Charity’s work to support people living with a brain tumour, and their families.

Thank you for reading my story, for your kindness, and for helping me keep fighting.

Kim x

Follow my journey @inmyheadkim

Kim Borthwick, and the appeal ‘Kim- In My Head’, is a restricted income fundraising partnership with, and under the umbrella of brainstrust, a Charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as Charity No. 1114634, and registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as Charity No. SC044642. brainstrust are providing administrative and fundraising support to this appeal, and others of a similar nature. brainstrust does this to help people access novel therapies and treatment more easily and safely.

brainstrust supports people in their fundraising for non-NHS brain tumour treatment, removing practical barriers without recommending treatments or providers. Support is only available where a specialist clinical team is involved, ensuring medical oversight remains in place - brainstrust enables patient agency, it does not direct clinical decisions.

brainstrust’s wider mission is to help people in the UK to feel less afraid, less alone, more confident and more resourced following a brain tumour diagnosis. Gift Aid recovered, surplus funds, and funds that are not applied for the primary purpose of this appeal will be used for public benefit to help others diagnosed with a brain tumour.

brainstrust registered office: 4 Yvery Court, Castle Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO31 7QG, UK. www.brainstrust.org.uk