The Maltings Organised a Big Bandana Bake for The Brain Tumour Charity



Kirsty Tooley is a Project Manager at our Maltings offices who recently organised a Big Bandana Bake in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity. This organisation is very close to Kirsty’s heart, as her brother, Carl, had a routine eye test in 2012 that revealed a papilledema. After having a CT and MRI scan, it was confirmed that he had a large brain tumour and would have to undergo emergency surgery the very next day.
The surgery revealed that it was a large frontal lobe tumour, extending across the right frontal lobe and up to the pituitary region of the brain. Following the first surgery, the MRI scan still showed significant residual tumour, and the biopsy confirmed it was a grade 3 oligoastrocytoma. After six months of chemotherapy, further MRIs revealed another tumour growing on the right frontal lobe. Due to complications with infection, Carl is missing the front part of both sides of his skull.
“Life before the tumour was very different for Carl,” says Kirsty. “He was fitness mad and a bar manager in Ibiza who was full of confidence, life and humour. Now he struggles to get out of bed, suffers with seizures and has lost all confidence. It is sad to see the devasting effects that brain tumours have on people and loved ones but we are very lucky as a family to still have him around.”
Organising the Big Bandana Bake with the help of her colleague Lauren Spencer, Kirsty invited staff at The Maltings to whip up tasty treats at home and bring them to the office for a bake sale. This was held in the Gleadow Dibb Room, with colleagues from across the premises getting involved. The mouth-watering cakes were available in exchange for a donation to the charity and the event raised an amazing £350 in a single afternoon.
“I cannot thank everyone enough for all your efforts with baking and donating,” says Kirsty. “Without your support it could not have been achieved.”
The Brain Tumour Charity is an essential organisation that many people may not have heard of, so events like this play a large role in spreading awareness. When you take into consideration that each day 31 people in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour, it suddenly becomes clear that it’s a topic we should all know more about.
Despite most forms of cancer research being on the rise, survival rates for people with brain tumours have barely improved in over forty years. Investment in this specific area of research is low and diagnosis is still taking far too long, which is something that simply has to change. Thanks to events like the Big Bandana Bake, which is held throughout March, regular funds and general knowledge are both improving.
“On Carl’s behalf I’d like to thank everyone who took part on the day,” says Kirsty. “One thing that hasn’t changed is that he's still Aston Villa mad, as you can see from his photos!”


There’s all kinds of activity taking place across SGS Packaging Europe’s offices, so keep up to date by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

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