The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada (BTFC) invites families, survivors, caregivers and supporters to share their Story of Hope this holiday season.

Every day, there are 27 Canadians diagnosed with a brain tumour and eight of those people will hear they have brain cancer.

BTFC Content Writer, Trina Boyko tells with us how people can participate in this campaign.

“They can add a story of hope to our national collection, which is shared on our website with a message of love or resilience or gratitude or anything that can sort of provide hope for other people and make someone feel less alone,” said Boyko.

The Bruce Power company is partnering up with the Foundation this year by doubling the donations that we receive this year.

A personal experience with brain tumours

Haley Toomey from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia lost her mom Cayla to a brain tumour a few years ago and tells with us why she feels this campaign is significant.

“It’s really hard to go through the holidays, especially if you have lost a loved one to a brain tumour, but I think sharing and keeping their memory alive in any capacity is really what keeps a lot of us going,” Toomey says.

Cayla was diagnosed with a glioblastoma tumour which completely blindsided her family.

“We never ever could have pictured this in our wildest dreams,” shared Toomey.

“It was the greatest loss of my life, but anything that I can do to keep her memory alive, to keep her legacy, and to talk about brain tumours as much as I can.”

She describes her mom as the kindest soul, who loved anybody that walked through their doors.

Cayla’s brain tumour was misdiagnosed as migraines at first when she began experiencing symptoms.

“I think healthcare here is really hard to navigate as it is, and they’re definitely under a lot of pressure and very, very understaffed to no fault of the doctors and the nurses and all of the teams that are in the hospitals. They’re doing the best with what they can,” says Toomey.

She wishes healthcare becomes a lot more accessible and easier to navigate.

According to Toomey, her mom’s team of medical professionals were phenomenal, and she is grateful for everything they did.

She says reading all the stories on the Brain Tumour of Canada’s website and seeing everything that they do is wholesome and heartwarming, including their positive feedback on sharing her mom’s story.

How to help

You can share your Story of Hope on their website with a photo and special message by December 31.

People can also make a difference by joining a Brain Tumour Walk in the spring, volunteering or becoming a monthly donor.