Edinburgh couple host musical in memory of daughter who died from brain tumour 'like root of plant'

Jenny died after the tumour spread to the other side of her brain.

An Edinburgh couple who lost their “theatre loving” daughter to an aggressive brain tumour are holding a musical starring her pals to help raise funds for research into the disease.

Jenny Hogg died from a glioblastoma (GBM) in March 2014 when she age 33. Despite undergoing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Jenny died two-and-a-half years after her diagnosis.

Her parents, Rene, 67, and Alan Hogg, 69, were devastated and the couple vowed to do everything they can to help speed up treatments and find a cure for the diseased. They are hosting Still Waiting in the Wings at the Church Hill Theatre, in Morningside, this weekend to raise money for the charity Brain Tumour Research.

Jenny Hogg died after battling aggressive brain tumour

Rene said: “Jenny didn’t deserve this, especially at such a young age. Too many young people are dying from this devastating disease, yet it receives so little funding. We want to do everything in our power to help.

“Musicals were one of Jenny’s favourite things, so we are holding a charity concert with performances by her theatre friends from when she was part of the stage crew for amateur theatre companies such as Forth Children’s Theatre and Blackout Productions.”

In August 2011, Jenny went to her GP after suffering bad headaches which were put down to sinusitis and she was prescribed antibiotics and steroids.

Rene said: “Jenny’s eyes didn’t look right though; we knew something was wrong. In December, Jenny went to the out of hours service at the Western General Hospital because her mouth tasted of metal. A scan revealed the tumour.

The show will star Jenny's friends from theatre

“She had an operation; afterwards, the surgeon said the tumour was like the root of a plant. He said he couldn’t be sure that he had removed all of it, saying Jenny would be brain damaged if he went deeper.”

In August 2013, Jenny’s face drooped down on the left-hand side. In October, a check-up scan showed the tumour had grown and spread to the other side of her brain. She died at home on 5 March 2014 with her parents and brother, David, 45, by her side.

Rene and Alan have raised £42,000 for Brain Tumour Research, including £15,500 from a show they held at the Church Hill Theatre in October 2014.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but only 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

Rene said: “We’re hoping these performances will get us to £50,000. Once we hit that target, we’ll retire gracefully.”

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Rene and Alan for hosting another show as it’s only with the support of people like them that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Jenny who are forced to fight this awful disease.”

Brain Tumour Research funds research at dedicated centres in the UK and campaigns for the Government and bigger cancer charities to invest more in research.

Still Waiting in The Wings is at the Church Hill Theatre on Friday 13 October at 7.30pm) and Saturday 14 October at 2.30pm.