Helpline 07939 046 030
Freephone 0300 102 17 22*

Geena’s Story

17 December 2020

Did any of you know that we had a well-known poet in our community?  James Harkness talks below about his late mother Geena Andrews, who lived in Sheffield.

“My Mother had NF1 which presented as tumours on her skin and other complicating health issues including breast cancer, but she never let this stop her from living her life to the full. When she was young, she did not show any signs of the condition, but over time the tumours increased in size and frequency until most of her skin was covered in lumps and bumps, as she described them. She inherited NF from her father.

She married Brian in the mid-1960s and had two sons, and neither of us inherited the disease. Her job for many years was as a keep-fit instructor and she managed fitness gyms, ran dance classes and fitted all of this around being a housewife. She also went on to gain a degree in linguistics from the University of Sheffield, wrote amateur plays and penned poems, and she went on local TV and radio to perform her monologues, often in the style of Pam Ayres.

She enjoyed holidays and for many years flew off to sunnier climes to roast in the sun whenever she could. As she got older, she was unable to travel and so stayed at home and instead went to the theatre to see all the shows, which she greatly enjoyed.

My mother always “dressed to the nines” and her flamboyant style was very distinctive. Her personality was also front and centre, she was outgoing and gregarious, and always generous and loving with her friends and family.

She was a great lover of cats and over the years owned dozens of felines, or did they own her? She was also an avid teddy bear collector, and this inspired her to write poems about them, such as this one:

“Teddy Varden”
by Geena Andrews


I don’t know why my name is Teddy Varden
I only know I’m very, very old.
My paw pads have a tendency to harden
My fur has grown so thin, I feel the cold.

One eye keeps falling out. So disconcerting.
It once went up the Hoover, in a rush.
Arthritis, in my hump, keeps bloody hurting
My sawdust gives me wind, which makes me blush.

My head goes round and round and leaves me dizzy
I used to grunt when pressed, but now I don't.
My hair, what bit is left, is somewhat frizzy...
But will they sling me out? Of course, they won't.

They’re taking out insurance on my life!
I’m worth a frigging fortune. I’m a Steiff!


Nerve Tumours UK was very important to Geena because it helped her to feel like she was not alone with her condition. There were people who understood how she felt and she gained strength from that. Also, she found the stories of others who were thriving with NF to be very inspiring, especially on hard days.

Filter News

Filter by Date
Category
Reset

Christmas Message from the Nerve Tumours UK team

Thank you from all of us at Nerve Tumours UK

Read More

Specialist NF Nurses/ Advisors’ Conference 2023

Find out more about this year's meeting with our Nurses

Read More

National NF2 Meeting 2023

A report from the 2023 England NF2 meeting, with healthcare professionals & charities working together for the NF2 community

Read More

Avastin Side Effects

Jo has collated shared personal experiences, with medical and general advice on Bevacizumab (brand name Avastin)

Read More

David’s Story - Community and Acceptance

David contacted NTUK after seeing our advertising campaign at King's Cross Station in London last year. Read his story:

Read More

Meet Clare

Clare is a Specialist NF Nurse based at Ryegate Children's Centre at Sheffield Hospital, covering the South Yorkshire region

Read More

Tracey, Specialist NF Nurse

Meet Tracey. She is based in Southampton & covers Hampshire, Dorset, West Sussex (part), Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight.

Read More

Meet Carolyn

Specialist NF Advisor Carolyn is based in Birmingham and covers the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

Read More

Today is Giving Tuesday

Call out by Karen Cockburn, Charity Director, to donate and support the NF Community

Read More

Masterclasses in NF: Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome - Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer

Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome

Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer, Medical University of Innsbruck

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults

Eric Legius, MD, PhD, University Hospital Leuven

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital Leuven

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Simon Freeman

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

Simon Freeman, MPhil FRCS, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Hospital

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations - Pierre Wolkenstein, Laura Fertitta & Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD, Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France

Laura Fertitta, MD, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor

Sirkku Peltonen, MD, PhD, University of Gothenberg, Sweden

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1 - Gareth Evans

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1

Gareth Evans, MD, University of Manchester, UK

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - David Pang

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

David Pang, MD, ChB. Guys and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches - Said Farschtschi

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches

Said Farschtschi, MD, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis

Eric Legius, MD, PHD, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

NF2 Working Together: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 2: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 1: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding  the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2 - Michel Kalamarides & Andrew King

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2

Michel Kalamarides, MD, PhD, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

Prof Andrew King, MBBS FRCS FRCS(SN), Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches - Shruti Garg, Andre Rietman

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches

Dr Shruti Garg, MBBS, MRCPsych, MMedSci, PhD, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Andre Rietman, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis - Susie Henley, Thomas Pletschko & Verena Rosenmayr

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis

Susie Henley, DClinPsy, PhD, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London UK

Thomas Pletschko, PhD, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Verena Rosenmayr, Clinical Psychologist, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management - Rianne Oostenbrink

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management

Rianne Oostenbrink, MD, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond - Amedeo Azizi

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond

Amedeo Azizi, MD, PhD, Head of the Paediatric Neurofibromatosis Program and Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations - Eric Legius and Christophe Glorion

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations

Eric Legius, MD, PhD. Head of Clinical Genetics Department of the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium

Christophe Glorion, MD, PhD, Department of Paediatric Orthopedic and Traumatologic Surgery, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France. 

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours - Rosalie Ferner and Viktor-Felix Mautner

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK

Viktor-Felix Mautner, MD, PhD. University Medical Centre in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Head of NF Outpatient Department

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas - Pierre Wolkenstein and Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD. Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France. Head of the Department of Dermatology

Sirkku Peltonen MD, PhD. University of Gothenberg, Sweden. Professor of Dermatology

INFER (International NF Educational Resources) is a series of online educational lectures for medical professionals by leading neurofibromatosis experts. The Masterclasses take place online approximately once a month, each on a different topic, and include real-time interaction between the expert presenter and the participants. The presentations are conducted in English, with real-time audio interpretation available in 6 additional languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. A recording of each INFER masterclass is then be made available online in each language for those who could not attend an event. INFER is an initiative of Children’s Tumor Foundation Europe, supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca. https://ctfeurope.org/research/masterclasses-in-nf

BPNA Keynote Lecture - Prof Rosalie Ferner - Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century

‘Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century’

Keynote Lecture at the 48th British Paediatric Neurology Association Annual Scientific Meeting on 21st January 2022

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK