IF you drive down the Rainford bypass on Sunday and see a dinosaur, an Alien and a Barbie, don’t be alarmed as it is part of a charity fun walk to help a gran-of-seven with a brain tumour.

Karen Rigby, from Carr Mill, was diagnosed in January 2021 with a stage four glioblastoma unmethylated.

St Helens Star:

Glioblastomas are grade four brain tumours. They’re fast-growing, diffuse – meaning they have threadlike tendrils that extend into other parts of the brain, are likely to spread within the brain and may come back even if intensively treated.

The mum-of-two, who works at Fairfield Hospital, has undergone rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but the unmethylated part of her diagnosis means her type of tumour is unlikely to react well to those kinds of treatments.

St Helens Star:

Karen, 60, is now looking to have alternative treatments not available on the NHS, but this will cost thousands of pounds, therefore her children Alex and Lorraine are now looking to the public to help.

They have already raised £10,000 towards treatment for their mum, but this Sunday, June 26, they aim to raise even more by joining family and friends donning funny costumes or t-shirts emblazoned with ‘Kicking cancer with Karen’ on them as they walk from Starbucks on Windle Island to the Ocean Plaza in Southport.

All the money raised before the day and on the day during bucket collections will go towards Karen’s treatment.

Her proud daughter Lorraine, said: “Mum had a bit of a set back with a scan coming back not showing great results, so she is starting another kind of chemo on Friday showing how much treatment alternatives matter now.

“We are really looking forward to Sunday’s walk, mum and dad will be driving the route giving us water and snacks and anyone who wants to stop or even just give us a beep of encouragement on the way then that would mean so much to us.”

To donate go to gofundme.com/f/lets-kick-cancer-with-karen