Dural teacher Linky de Bruyn’s battle with brain cancer

What started off as a constant headache for two weeks has become a cancer nightmare for a ‘favourite’ Dural maths teacher as the community rally in support.

Linky de Bruyn and her husband Pieter. Picture: Supplied

What started off as a constant headache for two weeks soon became a cancer nightmare for a beloved Dural maths teacher.

Linky de Bruyn, 67, usually spends her days drilling math equations into the heads of high school kids and enjoying her life with loved ones.

However, after complaining about an enduring two-week headache and forgetting where her friend of 10 years lived in April 2024, her daughter Anine Head knew something was wrong.

“She had to kind of look on the maps about how to get to her friend’s house and she said she’d been having a headache that she normally doesn’t have headaches,” Ms Head said.

“It was all very uncharacteristic of her. So we took her to the hospital and insisted that the doctor do a CAT scan.”

The family and community have rallied around Linky de Bruyn. Picture: Supplied

Mrs de Bruyn’s family insisted something was wrong and their persistence paid off.

“They found an immense pressure in her brain. The tumour was so large that it was pushing the one hemisphere of her brain into the other hemisphere of her brain by about 1.5 centimetres,” Ms Head said.

Linky de Bruyn after the first operation on her head. Picture: Supplied

Once the tumour was discovered, Mrs de Bruyn was rushed into emergency surgery which helped ease the pressure on her brain.

But the relief was short lived, with doctors breaking the news she had grade four Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive brain tumour known with no cure.

While the diagnosis came as a shock, Mrs de Bruyn and her family refuse to give up hope.

“It’s an aggressive one (GBM) and it’ll just continue to come back unless you do something about it. So the best chance is to remove as much as possible,” Ms Head said.

Linky de Bruyn and her husband with their grandchildren. Picture: Supplied

“And then mum will go and have that (surgery) done on April 2. And then instead of going the chemo route, which obviously didn’t really do anything last time, she’s going to head over to Germany.

“There’s a doctor who has taken mum’s case on board and they sort of do a multi-pronged approach to be able to attack the cancer cells.”

With Mrs de Bruyn expected to be in Germany for several weeks, the treatment and living expenses, her family have set up a GoFundMe to help ease the financial costs.

Mrs de Bruyn’s school, Pacific Hills Christian School, and the Dural community have rallied behind the family.

“The school’s done a meal plan so we didn’t have to worry about meals. They made sure that there was a meal for us every single night,” Ms Head said.

“She is like the grandmother of the school. We’ve had lots of people getting in touch with us and offering support. I’ve had constant messages from ex students, ex student’s parents, everyone just saying ‘Mrs de Bruyn was our favourite teacher’.”