January 09, 2019 - 1462 views
A former Rydal Penrhos pupil has told her inspirational story as part of a promotional video for a leading Cancer charity.
Sara Owen, who left the school in 2018, has starred in a video for CLIC Sargent where she details her experiences of having a brain tumour and subsequent operations and treatment.
This was devised to help others going through the same difficulties and to raise awareness for the charity’s wristband campaign ahead of World Cancer Day in February.
The 18-year-old initially started by detailing her initial diagnosis after her left arm went numb when on a skiing holiday, which was down to a tumour that required surgery.
Once removed by surgeons, the tumour was discovered to be Ependymoma, which arises from the ependyma, a tissue of the central nervous system.
Sara was then offered a new type of radiotherapy treatment in Florida, which involved 33 rounds proton beam therapy before another surgery prior to her A-levels once another tumour emerged.
Despite this adversity, the former Prefect rounded off a hugely successful 12-year stint at Rydal Penrhos with an exceptional set of A-level results, securing A* marks in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics, in addition to an A at AS level in Physics.
This included an overall mark of 585 out of a possible 600 in her Mathematics papers, and she is now at the prestigious King’s College London studying Medicine.
If that was not enough, Sara recently attended a lavish awards ceremony to collect her prize after securing one of the highest marks in the country during the Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology examination.
She praised the work being done by CLIC Sargent’s Social Worker and Nurses during her ordeal, and added: “I have my friends, my independence and with every clear scan I cry with relief."
