Townsville woman Sara Dyson to undergo brain surgery by Dr Charlie Teo in Spain

A Townsville woman battling a brain tumour has been reduced to tears by the response to a fund-raising campaign for surgery by renowned but controversial Professor Charlie Teo in Spain.

Friends of Townsville woman Sara Dyson, pictured, have so far raised $60,000 of a $90,000 goal for brain surgery in Spain. Picture: Supplied

A Townsville mother-of-four battling a brain tumour has been reduced to tears by the positive response to a fund-raising campaign for surgery by highly regarded but controversial Australian Professor Charlie Teo in Spain.

“I have no words for what people have done so far; my husband and I find it very hard, but we are just so thankful for how amazing people have been for us and our kids,” Sara Dyson said.

Ms Dyson, who works in the mining and logistics industries, said she underwent surgery to remove a rare type of brain tumour called Oligodendroglioma in 2020.

She said the tumour had since returned and friends, including Janelle McCarthy, had encouraged her to establish a GoFundMe page.

“Honestly, my husband (who works in the air force) and I are very humble people and for Janelle to even get the GoFundMe go ahead took a lot of persuasion from all of my friends because we try and do things on our own,” she said.

“But we do need the help because we are building a new house … at Bluewater Park in the new estate.”

Townsville woman Sara Dyson with highly regarded but equally controversial Australian surgeon Professor Charlie Teo. Picture: Supplied

The campaign has been given a significant boost thanks to a $20,000 cash donation from award-winning Townsville builders Ellis Developments, taking the total raised to $60,000 of a $90,000 goal.

In Ellis Developments’ latest podcast episode of Under Construction, general manager Sarah Wheatley said she had been touched by Sara’s story “and I knew that I had to do something to help”.

She said she had reached out to their sub-contractors and suppliers doing work on the Dyson’s home.

“These amazing people have decided to discount or completely provide free services so we can give that money directly to (Sara) as a donation on top of the donation that we want to provide.”

Ms Dyson said she was waiting for the list of generous subcontractors to post to her GoFundMe page in thanks.

“My husband and I are blown away; I think I am still in shock.”

She said she had zero qualms about enlisting the services of Professor Teo who successfully removed an orange-sized tumour from her right-frontal lobe in 2020, and had definitively diagnosed its unwelcome return in March.

“Having had surgery with him before I trust him, he has given me hope when no one else did,” she said.

“I have four kids (aged nine to 16), I’m only young, I’ve got a house that I need to enjoy, so I will do anything I can to ensure that, I have a long life.”

Ms Dyson, 40, said she will be having the surgery in Madrid on April 16, the same day as one of her daughter’s birthdays.

She said that although the tumour was not believed to be malignant, it needed to be removed as quickly as possible.

“If I don’t have the surgery soon then it could turn and then there is nothing they can do, so I need to get this out as soon as I can,” she said.

“I feel like a ticking time bomb and I don’t want to be like this; it’s just too hard on the kids, my husband … it’s an emotional roller-coaster.”

Asked about Professor Teo’s controversial past, including a ruling by a professional standards committee that effectively ended his career in Australia, Ms Dyson said she wouldn’t have anyone else do the surgery.

“To be truthful, to be told ‘you’re fine’, ‘you’re fine’ for three years or four years, to be then told ‘no you’re not’, you lose your trust in the medical system,” she said.

“I don’t think I would have anyone else do the surgery to be honest … he has been the only one the whole time who has got it right.”

Originally published as Townsville woman Sara Dyson to undergo brain surgery by Dr Charlie Teo in Spain