Boxers take to the streets to run for cash to help mum battling brain cancer

Peterlee mum Emma Selby, 38, was first diagnosed in 2017 and was given radiotherapy to stop the tumour growing, with a second tumour discovered during a routine scan.

But with the outbreak of coronavirus, treatment was delayed, and by the point Emma was able to visit hospital in May, doctors found a third, more aggressive tumour.

Now her loved ones are campaigning to raise funds for immunotherapeutic dendritic cell therapy, which works by treating the patient’s blood to be medically altered before it is re-injected back into the body.

The treatment costs around £26,000 per cycle and it is expected Emma, who is mum to Thomas, 14, would need three rounds, with a further £4,500 needed for follow up injections to ensure the treatment works.

Her nephew Sam is a member of Easington Amateur Boxing Club, which decided it wanted to help support the campaign by gathering for a sponsored run which took in a route covering Easington Colliery and Peterlee.

Head coach Bruce Harriman said: “Easington ABC has a small, but dedicated team of boxers who stepped up without hesitation to run for Emma when asked.

"One of the boxers, Sam Selby is the nephew of Emma who requires the treatment, so as club secretary and head coach, I felt obliged to step up and do something positive.

"We donated £200 out of our club fund initially and then I thought ‘why not do a socially distanced run?’

"The lads wore their boxing gloves and ‘Fighting for Emma Selby’ pinned on their chests to raise awareness that they have a local boxing club doing something positive and for a much needed cause – to help someone live and spend precious time with their family.

“We have raised over £5,000 for Emma Selby and if sharing this story prompts others to donate, through JustGiving or through the account the family has set up, then this boxing match has been won.”

Donations to Emma’s fund can be given via https://www.gofundme.com/f/tmzd2-saving-emma.

The club, which also counts Andrew Keenan, Nicola Cammock, Mick Brown and Glen Bosher as coaches, meets at Inta-Fitness in Vincent Street, Easington Colliery, on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays from 7pm to 8.30pm, with each session £2.

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