The “one-off” founder and chief executive of a high-profile charity has announced her retirement after being diagnosed with cancer.
Sue Farrington Smith MBE led the coming-together of a number of brain tumour charities to found Brain Tumour Research in 2009.
Now, having undergone major surgery to treat low-grade abdominal cancer, she has announced that she is stepping down “in the best interests of the charity” and for the sake of her family.
She said: “Although I have made a good recovery, I will continue to have scans and it is in the best interest of the charity and its future growth, and for the sake of my family, that I step down.
“I have always committed 100 per cent of my energies to the success of the charity and our vision of finding a cure for all types of brain tumours but since my phased and now full-time return to work over the last few months, I have realised I no longer have the energy to be able to fulfil this role in the way that I would like and need to.”
The charity has become the leading voice of the UK brain tumour community and funds four centres of excellence, with plans to establish a further three.
Farrington Smith’s passion for the cause comes from the loss of her niece Alison Phelan in 2001 just before her eighth birthday, and the many families that she met along the way.
The charity’s director of finance and operations, Ashley Bailey, will take over as interim chief executive until a new leader is appointed.
Farrington Smith will now take up a new role as a trustee of the charity, bringing “passion, continuity, lived experience and a broad skill set to complement the board”, a press release said.
Wendy Fulcher, Brain Tumour Research’s chair of trustees, who lost her husband to a brain tumour, said: “Neither Sue nor I would have chosen to be part of the brain tumour community, our roles were unwelcomingly thrust upon us.
“However, in the 20 years that we have stood together fighting to improve options and outcomes for those diagnosed with a brain tumour and their families, Sue has been the staunchest of allies and the fiercest of campaigners.
“Her energy levels have been legendary and her leadership and management of the growth of Brain Tumour Research show just what passion and drive can achieve.
“I am proud of her legacy and her trailblazing work, which will be continued by the charity, but I am also proud to call her my friend and colleague. She is a one-off and the epitome of a brain tumour activist.”