Always on
This project successfully funded on 20th May 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Brain Tumour Book - Charity Fundraising Exhibition
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
Raising funds for The Brain Tumour Charity and to stage and maximise the reach of the Brain Tumour Book exhibition
How you can help
Donate
However much or little you’re able to give, your support will help us with this project and raise much needed funds for the Brain Tumour Charity
Visit the exhibition and tell all your friends
We would love to see you at the exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel from 17th-26th April! Tell all your friends, and encourage them to visit the show and donate. You can find out more about the exhibition below.
My Story
My name is Leah Jensen and I have been a practising ceramic artist for over 15 years, creating intricately handcarved porcelain pots which have been shown both nationally and internationally and which feature in a number of private and public collections.
A life changing diagnosis
One afternoon, between the first two lockdowns in 2020, I had a seizure at work and my life changed dramatically. The seizures didn't occur in the way that people often imagine, but manifested in a series of strange symptoms and behaviours, resulting in a colleague calling me an ambulance. I was admitted to hospital that night and after a number of tests, I was told I had a brain tumour, I had just turned 30.
Brain Tumour Book
I started the Brain Tumour Book project that very first morning after my seizure when I woke up in hospital and I thought about what was happening. I looked out of the hospital window and recalled the Louise Bourgeois quote, “The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair”.
The wait from my initial diagnosis to when I would have surgery was 252 days. The NHS was under a huge strain due to Covid and I was thought to have a low-grade Glioma, which would need to come out as it was creating problems, but as I understood it, would be unlikely to be life threatening. So, I waited and I sewed.
I swapped clay for textiles, something I could do from bed. It became an absolute necessity for me, and genuinely aided my recovery. I often found myself wondering, what do people who don't make things do with their time? How do they cope?' I felt so fortunate. It occurred to me recently that ever since I was a young child I have turned to making for escapism from difficult situations.
Things got worse
Then just a week after a craniotomy to remove my tumour, while I was recovering, I had an unexpected call from the hospital, they had analysed my tumour and I was told I would need to have some more treatment and it would be pretty aggresive.
Before treatment began I would also have to decide if I wanted to harvest my eggs. Suddenly my partner Michael and I had to have very serious, grown-up conversations, that we'd only ever touched on half heartedly.
It took me a long time to realise I had cancer, even though I was attending regular appointments at the cancer centre. I was so intensely confused because of everything my brain had gone through, it was impossible to think clearly.
I had a grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma. I deeply regret telling my loved ones that as the Google results are bleak.
Art as an act of healing
Since my diagnosis and treatment, every emotion, thought, memory and feeling has been captured in my Brain Tumour Book, and, as I deal with a potentially uncertain future, the project is still ongoing. Every check-up and brain scan brings a sense of dread for me but I've been told that I have such a calm sense of acceptance and positivity that shines through my work and it helps me articulate the ups and downs of this life-changing diagnosis.
Why is this project important?
The hard truths about brain cancer
- Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK.
- Each year, around 13,000 people are diagnosed each year with a primary brain tumour, including 900 children and young people – that’s 35 people every day.
- Over 5,400 people lose their lives to a brain tumour each year.
- High-grade brain tumours reduce life expectancy by on average 27 years – the highest of any cancer.
- Just 13% of adults survive for five years after a high-grade brain tumour diagnosis.
Since having this illness it has become apparent how under funded research into brain cancer is. I find it shocking that despite the statistics brain cancer currently receives just 3% of the national spend! Something has to be done!
Time for action
I decided to show the Brain Tumour Book to Debra and Juliana, the founders of my gallery Cavaliero Finn, and see if they would help me curate an exhibition to showcase the work. They were both moved to tears and absolutely blown away by the book. They were instantly 100% on board.
"We have worked with Leah since 2019 and have seen how having a brain tumour has impacted and continues to impact her life. She's an incredible artist and the strength and determination Leah has shown since her illness is humbling. Her journey has been a hard one to witness, but it's also one that is full of hope. Last year Leah was one of 10 leading artists selected as a finalist for the 2025 edition of the British Ceramics Biennial which took place in Stoke-on-Trent. She's such an inspiration." Debra Finn
Our Aim
Together we developed an exhibition plan to take this work public with the aim of helping those going through the same experiences as I have gone through and to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity to help with research, awareness and offer support for everyone affected by a brain tumour diagnosis.
About the exhibition
The free exhibition, titled Brain Tumour Book - An Artist's Journey Through Cancer Diagnosis to Treatment, will be held in the beautiful Fitzrovia Chapel from the 17th to the 26th of April 2026. The chapel’s original purpose was to provide a place for reflection and quiet contemplation for the staff and patients of the former Middlesex Hospital. Fitzrovia Chapel’s director Madeleine Boomgaarden and her team are keen to continue the association with health and well-being, so it is the most fitting venue for the show.
Fitzrovia Chapel - a hidden gem in the heart of London
The exhibition will feature a series of artworks from the book that chronicle my journey through my brain tumour diagnosis and treatment. I hope that my story with its intricate embroidered stitch-work and layered imagery will offer visitors to the exhibition a window into my process of fear, resilience, acceptance, and hope.
Alongside the presentation of the Brain Tumour Book will be a limited edition print, taken from the book, available for purchase. There will also be a collection of hand embroidered artworks available for sale. All of the proceeds of the work for sale will raise much needed funds for the charity.
There will also be a film of the book produced by ELASTIC PIE FILMS which will be available to view at the chapel giving insight to my thoughts and emotions behind the artworks. The film will also be available online at www.cavalierofinn.com so that it is accessible to those people who are unable to visit the show in person.
You can find out more about the exhibition on Cavaliero Finn's website
Why we need your help
Cavaliero Finn and I will be donating our time to get this exhibition off the ground and manage it during the course of the show at Fitzrovia Chapel. As well as raising money for the Brain Tumour Charity, your donations will also help us with the following expenses that will enable us to stage and maximise the reach of this powerful, emotionally moving exhibition.
Venue hire, exhibition equipment, video production, marketing support (graphic design, promotional literature) initial production of the limited edition and exhibition photography.
We would love this exhibition to tour so that visitors outside of London can experience this book.
Get in touch
If you think you may have any additional rewards that we could add to our project to encourage donations, please get in touch at [email protected]
For all press enquiries please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made