Kinross student diagnosed with brain cancer aiming to raise £250,000 for treatment

A 20-year-old student diagnosed with an extremely rare brain tumour is trying to raise £250,000 for treatment.

Joscelyne Kerr, from Kinross, was just 18 when she was told she had a rare schwannoma tumour. She’s now awaiting scan results after being told her current medication may no longer be effective.

Despite her devastating diagnosis, she’s continuing with her studies in astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh.

But her situation is far from the normal student experience.

Two years ago, Joscelyne’s friends noticed something unusual – one of her pupils was blown. At first, her optician suspected an infection.

However, Joscelyne shortly began experiencing severe double vision and was admitted to hospital. Doctors discovered a rare tumour but reassured her that it was benign.

Within just a few months, the tumour had doubled in size.

She underwent surgery to remove it, but during her recovery, Joscelyne received devastating news.

Doctors told her she had an ultra-rare and aggressive brain cancer known as anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (APXA), believed to be the first recorded case of its kind in Scotland.

“They said I had 12-18 months to live. It was a bit of a smack in the face to be honest,” Joscelyne told STV News.

Joscelyne underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which weren’t successful. But another targeted treatment had better results, extending her life for another 21 months.

Another twist came in September when doctors found a new mass spreading towards Joscelyne’s optic nerve and her brain stem.

Despite the rollercoaster of the past two years, Joscelyne’s positivity is unwavering, and she’s set up a fundraiser hoping to raise £250,000.

She said: “There’s so much world out there and so much life and stuff to do. I think I had a mindset of ‘there’s no point sitting around in my bed, having a negative mindset, doing nothing, because if I had done that two years ago, I would not be doing anything.

“If I do end up dying before it (the fundraising money) gets used, if it doesn’t go to me, it will be used for research so that people going through the same thing as me or something else, they won’t have to go through the hardships I’ve gone through.

“There’s no reason in giving up because I’ve got all these people behind me, rooting for me.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease.

Hugh Adams from Brain Tumour Research said: “Charities can only do so much; governments need to step up as well. That’s why we work at Holyrood, Westminster and Cardiff, to get governments to play their part.

“Together, we’ll put the money in, and we’ll get the results.”

Joscelyne’s mum, Ann Kerr, has planned a family holiday between Christmas and the next scan results. She says it’s Joscelyne’s bravery that keeps the whole family going.

Ann said: “Joscelyne makes my life easy by her strength and positivity, it makes me go, ‘this is OK, we can do this.

“And that’s not to say we don’t sit and have a good cry, but she’s just absolutely amazing. I don’t know if I could be that positive.”