Edinburgh academic who got devastating cancer news after 'dream job' move desperate for financial help

A University of Edinburgh academic moved halfway across the world for a ‘dream job’ before her life was turned upside down by two cancer diagnoses.

Bronwyn Sumption, 31, swapped South Africa for the Capital in 2022 along with her partner Erika van den Heever after she was offered a post as a teaching fellow in international sport development.

The big move was going well until she was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in May 2023, and went through several gruelling rounds of chemotherapy only for it to return months later.

In need of further treatment and unable to work, she is now desperate for financial help to be able to stay in the UK.

Speaking to the Evening News, Bronwyn said of her decision to come to Edinburgh: “It was a huge move, leaving my whole family back in South Africa and moving to a whole new country where I didn’t have any family members or friends. But I couldn’t turn it down.”

She received a diagnosis of stage 3A primary mediastinal B-cell non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in May 2023, having been told by GPs her symptoms were unlikely to be cancer.

Six rounds of chemotherapy followed in which she was consigned to a hospital bed for long periods of time.

She added: “There were a lot of complications during the whole chemotherapy treatment timeline. I developed neutropenic sepsis, so I was hospitalised for infection if I’m not mistaken four out of the six chemo regimes, so I basically lived in a hospital bed.

“I had originally been told that I had a viral infection and it took a while to get the diagnosis, so it was quite a lonely experience of not really feeling like I was being listened to.”

After a nightmarish few months, Bronwyn was told she was in remission in October 2023. However, despite the steadfast support of her partner, things did not return to normal as she had hoped.

She explained: “People would think you’d kind of get back into your way of life but you don’t. It’s a terrifying place to be in because your routine of going to the hospital has been taken away.

“You still have a high risk of infection. I was very weak after the treatment and I couldn’t train like I wanted to. You lose confidence in your body.

“It was obviously lovely to know that the cancer was gone but you just wonder when you’ll get back to being yourself again.

“My family’s all back in South Africa and my gran passed away while I was over in Edinburgh getting cancer treatment so I couldn’t go over for the funeral or be supportive for my mum during that time.

“Both my sisters had babies as well, so you miss out on quite a lot, especially when you live in a different country but even more so when you can’t leave the country because you’re going through treatment.”

In January 2023, she was diagnosed with a six-centimetre brain tumour and restarted chemotherapy within two days. It was the first case her doctors had seen of the rare disease reappearing after treatment.

“I was unwell during December and, yet again, I went to GPs and got told I had vertigo and that there was no chance that it was cancer, but I was very unwell”, she added.

“My partner and I hadn’t had a chance to go on holiday due to all the treatment that I was receiving across the year so we decided to go down south because my aunt lives down in Kent.

“We also flew over to Jersey and I saw doctors in Kent and in Jersey just because I was not getting any better. We drove back to Edinburgh and then I got admitted on a Sunday because I was throwing up blood.

“I had an MRI on the Monday, diagnosed on the Tuesday and started with the next round of chemotherapy on the Thursday.”

Doctors have recommended that Bronwyn undergo a stem cell transplant to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. However, this will leave her unable to work until next year.

And due to her being in the country on an ancestry visa, she will not be eligible for government help when her sick pay runs out next month. As a result, she has set up an online fundraiser to shore up support.

She said: “I don’t have access to public funds while I can’t work. So the GoFundMe was literally my last resort. It was something I never wanted to do.

“I’ve been on a 50 per cent salary from December last year, so that in itself has been very difficult. You feel helpless, your hands are tied and it’s been extremely stressful.

“The last thing you want to be doing is stressing about finances when you’re fighting for your life. Luckily, the cricket club that I play for, Royal High Corstorphine, has set up a drive to get it out there and quite a few of the members there have donated as well.

“People that I don’t even know are contributing and it’s really nice to see that something like this can really bring people together. I think it’s also important to create awareness about blood cancer.”

A keen cricketer, Bronwyn hopes to play for Scotland once she makes a full recovery. And despite the challenges of the last two years, she has never given up on making a life for herself in Edinburgh.

Bronwyn said: “I’ve worked really hard across my life in terms of completing my PhD during Covid, working three and four jobs, playing sport at a professional level and then emigrating and all this happening.

“You’ve got to be resilient to stuff that gets thrown at you. Like I said to my mum and dad, there are people who get diagnosed with this and they don’t have the option of treatment.

“I always just try to see the positive side in all of this. There’s been a lot of stuff that at the age of 31, people shouldn’t have to go through, but you’ve got to face it and put a smile on your face.

“My goal is to get my life back, really. I’ve been training since I was 13 or 14 so I want to get back into the gym.

“To be able to play cricket, get back to work and travel back to South Africa to see my family and friends are all really important as well.

“Apart from that, I really want to pursue my career as a young researcher. Unfortunately, it started and it unfortunately got stopped relatively quickly with the diagnosis. And I want to travel. I would love to travel to Europe.”

You can back Bronwyn’s GoFundMe campaign by clicking here.