Bandana day so close to Scott’s heart

Staff at Oldham Sixth Form College wear bandanas to mark the start of National Brain Tumour Month and to support colleague Scott Jackson (front centre), who has a grade 3 tumour.

STAFF at Oldham Sixth Form College helped raise awareness for National Brain Tumour Month by wearing a bandana for a day.

Run by The Brain Tumour Charity, the month-long campaign aims to raise money and awareness of its work, with the help of the headgear.

Similar events took place nationwide on Friday with participants being asked to buy and wear a special £3 bandana on the day or donate money to the charity.

The cause is personal to the college after its technical officer, Scott Jackson (35), was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2009.

It was removed in an operation, but the tumour sadly returned in 2011, more aggressively than before.

After undergoing weeks of radiotherapy and multiple operations, the tumour was successfully removed once again but Scott, from Billinge, Wigan, still has to deal with MRI scans twice a year to ensure the tumour is not returning.

Now living a normal life, Scott and his colleagues aimed to raise as much awareness for the campaign as they can.

Scott said: “I saw the bandana campaign on Facebook and thought that it would be a great thing to get involved with.

“People at work were also eager to help.”

Around 30 people signed up to wear the bandana over the course of the normal working day.

Scott, who has worked at the college for 16 years, added: “Hopefully the event will get people thinking about brain tumours and what should be done.”

The college will also be holding a cake day at the end of the month to raise money and aid the charity even more.

All money raised will go to The Brain Tumour Charity, the largest charity dedicated to funding brain tumour research in the UK and supporting those affected.

For more information about The Brain Tumour Charity visit the website at www.thebraintumour charity.org/