THE mother of a young girl who battled a rare brain tumour has vowed to continue fundraising to support research into the illness after she was given the all-clear.

Naomi Savage, from Romanby, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was four when doctors discovered she had a rare and aggressive brain tumour.

She needed three operations and 28 sessions of chemotherapy to fight it.

The tumour could return at any time, so Naomi, who is seven next month, must have a brain scan every four months.

Naomi’s mother, Lucy, who worked with cancer patients as a nurse before Naomi’s diagnosis, said: “Every time we have to wait for the results, it seems like the world stops, and then we can breathe again.

“I never thought of brain tumours as being particularly common. Although they are rare, they are the biggest killer of child cancer patients and sufferers under 40.”

While Naomi was in hospital, Mrs Savage and her husband, Mark, started fundraising for research into the condition, after learning the survival rate for brain tumour sufferers has hardly improved in 40 years.

The cause, Naomi’s Fight for Life Fund, has since raised thousands of pounds for research into brain tumour treatments.

Mrs Savage said: “We started the fundraising because of Naomi’s health, but really the money is not for her. She is the figurehead, but if she were to relapse in the next few years, the research would not have progressed enough to make any difference.

“The money we raise is to help people in the future; to hopefully find new ways to help them recover.”

Naomi wants to be a nurse when she grows up, and she has been able to return to school, despite being partially sighted because of her treatment.

A coffee morning for the fund will be held in The Black Lion, Thirsk, on Friday, November 6.

Entry to the event, which runs from 9am to 1.30pm, costs £1.50, with local cakes and produce on sale.

Donations can be sent to PO Box 202, Northallerton, DL7 7DF, or to the Northallerton branch of HSBC. Cheques should be made payable to Fight for Life Fund. The fund website is at naomisfightforlifefund.org.uk