A COUPLE whose daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just seven months old have embarked on a marathon fundraising effort inspired by their experience - and their surname.

Jen and Joe Walke-Myles from Portland, along with friends and family, plan to rack up 500 miles of walks and runs in October in support of The Brain Tumour Charity.

Their goals include a 10k-run for Jen as part of the Burton Marathon tomorrow (OCT14) and a communal 12.5-mile walk from Lulworth Cove to Weymouth on October 21.

The couple’s lives were turned upside down in September last year when their baby, Betty, was diagnosed with a rare and highly aggressive brain tumour.

The devastating news came after Jen and Joe became increasingly concerned about Betty’s symptoms, including constant crying and restlessness in their previously happy baby.

They made several visits to different doctors over a month-long period and at one stage Betty was diagnosed with an ear infection but a course of antibiotics made no difference.

She also appeared to experience pain when her neck was touched and on one occasion began to hold her head in a ‘really weird’ way, prompting Jen and Joe to visit A&E when the family were staying away from home for a wedding.

Jen, 34, who produces Dorset’s biennial Inside Out arts festival, said: “By the time we got to the hospital, she wasn’t doing it any more and they said she was fine.

“We know now that Betty’s is a very rare tumour and it wasn’t easy to make the connection between all of her symptoms.”

Betty’s diagnosis came eventually after another family member raised the possibility that she might have fluid on her brain.

That suggestion prompted a GP to measure Betty’s head circumference, which was revealed to be increasing out of all proportion with the rest of her growth.

The GP contacted Dorset County Hospital’s paediatric ward, where staff said they would see Betty that day. After examining her, doctors at the hospital ordered a CT scan which revealed a ‘large mass’ in the middle of her brain.

Jen and Joe were rushed by ambulance with their daughter to Southampton Hospital, where Betty underwent emergency life-saving surgery that night to relieve the build-up of pressure in her brain caused by the tumour

It was to be the first of three major brain operations for Betty, followed by a gruelling course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

Now aged 20 months, she has astounded doctors by responding so positively to the treatment for the disease, which was classified as grade 4 - the most aggressive type of tumour in the brain.

She is now in remission, with scans every three months to check for any sign of the tumour returning.

Jen and Joe, 37, a freelance stage manager, are determined to do whatever they can to help other families affected by a brain tumour diagnosis in the future.

Jen said: “Our priority was to raise money for a charity that funds research, so The Brain Tumour Charity was the obvious choice.

“Brain tumours are one of the worst cancers in children. We just want to stop this happening to anyone else.“I thought there must be something in the fact that our surname is Walke-Myles. So I decided that between us and our friends and family, we’d walk 500 miles.”

Geraldine Pipping, director of fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We are delighted that Betty is doing so well and we are immensely grateful to Jen and Joe for everything they are doing to support us and to help fund our research.

“We’ll be cheering them on every step of the way towards their 500-mile goal.”

To donate, or for more information about the family’s fundraising walks, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/500milesforBetty