Charlotte had lots in common with many teenage girls. She loved fashion, make-up, music and cats, and planned to go to college to study beauty therapy. She believed passionately in justice and fairness, and that kindness was an essential part of life. She was beautiful in every sense of the word, and loving and beloved.
Her world, and that of her family, fell apart in August 2013, when after suffering headaches for four months she was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, an incredibly rare cancer which affects one in a million people (or one person in 25 full football stadiums). Over the next three years the astrocytoma developed into glioblastoma multiforme.
Despite this shattering diagnosis, Charlotte began to vlog via youtube, talking to other young people about her experiences of life with cancer – and living life to the full, despite her condition. Her voice reached out to nearly 23 million people worldwide, and her achievements were recognised with awards from charities Cancer Research UK and Clic-Sargent.
Charlotte continued to vlog almost to the very end of her life in a series of heartwarming, funny, emotional, poignant and sad conversations with her followers, and Alex and Miles continue to keep her channel alive as a resource for young cancer patients and their families.
Charlotte’s BAG is one of the only UK charities specifically focussing on raising funds for research into, and awareness of, glioblastoma multiforme. This very rare and currently nearly always terminal form of brain cancer can affect anyone of any age. However, the plasticity of the brain as it develops during adolescence means that enormous changes are taking place, making any treatment for glioblastoma even more challenging.
Brain cancer is significantly underfunded, with only 1% of annual spending going towards research into cancers of the brain. This is one reason why there has been so little progress to date, unlike other cancers which have had massive investment and as a result seen survival rates increase dramatically. Brain cancer treatments have not progressed significantly since 1990, when temozolomide was first introduced.
Charlotte Eades died from glioblastoma in February 2016, just a week after her 19th birthday – but before her death Charlotte made a difference to thousands of other young cancer sufferers.
Why Charlotte’s BAG? BAG stands for Battle Against Glioblastoma, and Charlotte was a major handbag aficionado!
Charlotte’s BAG is a registered UK Charity: 1169419.
Along with bravery and a spirit of hope her videos communicated a sense of dignity while being disabled. Putting on makeup when you’ve just had brain biopsy and your vision is blurry is actually one part of that..
I wish I actually knew Charlotte. She was such a beautiful young lady inside and out, which says a lot about her sweet family.
To this day, whenever I feel especially low, I find that by watching videos on Charlotte’s channel I’m able to pick myself up…
Even when her body was failing on her, she made sure we were updated. And she was taken away, so quickly… it’s made me fight more.
Life is a constant struggle so I have some understanding of what Charlotte’s family went through and will continue to go through for the rest of their lives.
Charlotte showed immense strength, told it like it was and if Charlotte could do it then I, at 62, could do it too! I cried along with her and for her, I felt for her when things were not going well.
