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Lisa helps Shine a Light on Neurofibromatosis in Belfast

08 April 2022

Lisa with The Lord Mayor of Belfast in The Parlour of the City Hall

My name is Lisa, from Belfast. I am 28 years old and the youngest of 3 girls, with me being the only person in my family with Neurofibromatosis (NF1). 

I travel back and forth to London for my specialist treatment/surgery, as currently there is no one in Belfast who specialises in Neurofibromatosis.

I have had numerous operations throughout my lifetime, with the main ones carried out on my face and spine. During one of my complex spinal surgeries, I spent a total of 14 weeks in Kings College Hospital, London. 

Beside many hospital visits, which can sometimes dominate my life, I love art & drama. I am proud that I am very much involved with Action Ability Drama group.  I absolutely love drama and after a 2 year absence due to COVID,  we are back!  I am excited that we have been busy rehearsing for our forthcoming performance of Viva Las Belfast, which again will take place at The Grand Opera House, in Belfast on 28 June. 

It saddens me that not many people know about my condition, here in Belfast, or world wide.

This gave me the motivation to lobby Councillor Kate Nicholl, Belfast Lord Mayor, to light up The Belfast City Hall in blue to mark Neurofibromatosis Day on 17 May 2022. Therefore, I was delighted when my dad received a phone call from one of the secretaries to inform me that my request had been successful.

Here I am, proudly posing with the Lord Mayor, who I have to say was absolutely a lovely person and showed a lot of interest in my condition.

She even let me wear her gold chain, which weighed a ton I have to say.

The Lord Mayor has promised to put awareness out there for Neurofibromatosis via social media, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook etc

Living with NF has been extremely hard, but it also has helped me to meet my favourite BoyBAND JLS, who treated me like a VIP.

I try not to let Neurofibromatosis place a huge impact on my life as I strongly believe in the motto… I have Neurofibromatosis, but Neurofibromatosis doesn’t have me!!!

Shine a Light on NF

We are working with organisations worldwide to light up landmarks & buildings in blue on May 17- NF Awareness

Find out more

Shine A Light 2021 Success!

Another incredible year, 92 buildings lighting up blue to Shine a Light on Neurofibromatosis as part of this year’s campaign

Find out more

Meet Siobhan, our new Specialist Advisor for Northern Ireland

Meet Siobhan from Northern Ireland, our newest Specialist Advisor

Find out more

Registered Charity Number: 1078790 and SC045051

Nerve Tumours UK has taken reasonable care to ensure that the information contained on this website and in its newsletters, literature is accurate. Nerve Tumours UK cannot accept liability for any errors or omissions, or for information becoming out-of-date. Any information given is not a substitute for getting appropriate medical advice from your own GP or other healthcare professional.

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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

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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