Rent A Date For Charity

'I want to raise £1 million before i die'

 

23 June 2008 90p

Terminally Ill Lisa Connell isn't the type to sit around and complain...

'I hated the thought of having to wear glasses.  I was 27 years old with a packed social life and a great job in property.  It sounds vain, but glasses weren't part of the plan.

I'd been getting bouts of double vision and staggering around as if I was drunk.  I ignored it all at first, but after I fell over in the street and smashed my front teeth I felt I needed an optician.

But as I tested different lenses in Specsavers, none of them seemed to help.  The optician reckoned I could have a muscle problem but decided to send me to London's Moorfields Eye Hospital for an MRI scan.

I wasn't too worried.  I'd recently split up with my partner and I assumed I was justed stressed.  when I went back a week later for the results of the scan there was a mix-up.  First, a doctor said it was a muscular problem, which came as a huge relief. 'But what about the scan?' I asked.

'Er, what scan?' came the reply.  He hadn't even realised I'd had one!

He went back into the office and suddenly there was a lot of commotion.  A senior doctor was called, and when they came back there looked very serious.

'We have some bad news, I’m afraid,' he said. 'You have a brain tumour.'

I became totally hysterical.  One minute they'd said I was fine, now this. 'I'm going to die, I'm going to die,' was all I could think.

The doctor explained that the type of tumour I had was benign and small, but in time it would grow bigger and become malignant.  Due to its position in my head, and its shape, it was inoperable.  There wasn't anything they could do.  I was told to come back in six months for a check-up.

I staggered home in disbelief.  I told my parents and spent a few days in tears.  when the shock had worn off I got a second opinion which, sadly,, confirmed what I already knew.  The tumour couldn’t be removed.  It was now a question of how fast it was going to grow.

My health was deteriorating.  I often collapsed.  I found it hard to walk, and got very depressed - there were moments when I thought about ending it all.

My friends didn’t know what to say and I felt some people were avoiding me.  I also got really bad mood swings which didn’t make me easy to be around.

My turning point came when I talked to a  friend of my dad’s.  Tony had the same type of tumour as me, but was living a relatively normal life.  He encouraged me to get fit and eat well, so I could manage my symptoms better.

My dad signed me up to a gym and I trained with a fitness instructor who helped me work on my balance.  I had to retrain my brain to get my co-ordination back.

The results were amazing.  In a few weeks I was back on my feet, feeling much better.

I’d had to give up my job, but I was keen to keep my mind stimulated.  I looked into ways of raising money for brain tumour charities - Id been so shocked at the lack of support offered to patients like me.

I started a website, called rentadatecorcharity.com auctioning off dates with celebs.  It's been a huge success.  I managed to raise £12,000 in six months.

I still have plenty of bad days.  When I’m stressed the tumour swells and I get terrible headaches.  further tests show that its growing but slowly now.  I’m currently looking at a new type of radiotherapy treatment called Gamma Knife, but it’s unlikely I’ll get it via the NHS.

Doctors can’t tell me how much time I have left.

It could be months or years, so I’m just trying to make each day count.'

DATING FOR CHARITY

Lisa’s celebrity dating website, rentadateforcharity.com has been extremely successful.  Stars like model Sophie Anderton and Corrie’s Dev have volunteered to take part, and Lisa ultimately aims to raise £1 million for tumour victims.  ‘It's great fun, but it takes up so much time and energy that I’m hiring staff to help me out,’ says brave Lisa, who doesn’t know how long she has left to live.

DATE A CELEBRITY One woman's way to raise money for brain tumour victims

 

EVERY TIME I go to the hospital, I ask my neurosurgeon when I’m going to die.  He says he can’t tell me anything but just sit, wait and see.” So says Lisa Connell, a young woman living with a brain tumour.

 

To a casual observer, this pretty North Londoner with her glossy hair and clear skin looks like she has everything to live for.

 

“They say it’s benign, but mine’s inoperable.  They shouldn’t say benign, as they use this in a very broad term and mine will get to the stage when it will do what a cancerous tumour does.”

 

When she was diagnosed with the tumour in August 2006, this 29-year old freely admits she didnt handle it very well.  “For three moths I really deteriorated.  I couldn’t walk or talk.  Basically I had given up on myself.”

 

Then a chance meeting with her father’s friend who had also been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour ten years ago and given just six months to live gave her the impetus to kick her despair.

 

“I believe the mind is a very powerful thing.” States Lisa.  And with her renewed belief in herself, she went to the gym with the aid of her father and built up her strength again.  (In just under two months she had achieved what her coach had said she’d achieve in six.)  This rejuvenated outlook on life inspired her to take part in a 10k race in July last year.  “It's one of my biggest achievements.”

 

Afterwards, with her desire to live a normal life again, she set herself a challenge to raise a £1 million to help brain tumour charities.

 

Her focus is now a website called RentADateForCharity.com.  Since setting it up in October, she’s been auctioning dates with herself – she’s been wined and dined by a prince who lives in Dubai – and she has generated celebrity auctions from the likes of supermodel Sophie Anderton and Coronation Streets Dev (Jimmi Harkishin), Cheryl Baker, a couple of Big Brother contestants, and TV presenter Donatella Panayiotou (Young Posh & Loaded).  Some celebrities have offered the use of their holiday homes or VIP backstage passes to be auctioned instead.

 

The list and types of dates have been endless and it’s not just the well-heeled and B-list celebrities that are attracted to her website.  Its gradually becoming a social network in its own right and registration is free.

 

“There are just so many ways of using the website and helping the cause,” says Lisa.  “I’ve had mums auctioning themselves for coffee mornings, and there’s one guy who just donated £1,000 to my company.  He also regularly bids on the auctioneers.”

 

And it’s not just the users that are benefiting from the website – its charities too.

 

“My terms and conditions state that brain tumour charities will benefit from the overall profits that the company receives and 75 per cent of the net bids on celebrity auctions.”  She explains.  And cannily, she also allows other charities to register their websites for exposure but they don’t receive a penny from the overall profits, only from the celebrity auctions they refer.

 

“Say for example, Breast Cancer UK could get Kylie Minogue,” hypothesises Lisa.  “That charity would receive 75 per cent of that particular auction and the remaining 25 per cent will be used to help with the campaign for brain tumour awareness.”

 

Naturally, this entrepreneur has patented her site and it has bidders and charities from all over the world logging on.  Its success has been from word of mouth via Facebook and MySpace and Lisa is organising it all from her home in Southgate.

 

“When it comes to running the site and chasing the celebrities to get involved, it’s all down to me.  There is a team, in the sense I’ve got my agents who help me out.  But when it comes to running the site, chasing celebrities and vetting the dates, that is done by me.  And it’s not cheap.

 

“I’m always working out ways to sponsor the celebrity dates.  For example, I’ve just got a bowling company to sponsor the twins from Big Brother (Sam and Amanda Marchant) because they wanted to go bowling on their date.  The firms got its logo going on the website for free as a reward for its sponsorship, so it’s great publicity for it”.

 

With her wipe board of ‘to do’ lists and computer that is constantly blipping in her home, Lisa’s determination is matched by her passion for the business.  Before the tumour, she worked in property management.

 

“I want to make it clear I’m not a charity.  This is a company that donates its profits to brain tumour charities,” she enthuses.  “I work seven days a week, probably 18 hours a day.  I don’t sleep much because the doctors have told me that most brain tumour sufferers die in their sleep, plus I find it hard to sleep when there is so much to do.”

 

There is a price to pay for Lisa’s non-stop dynamism and it becomes apparent when she calls to cancel the photo shoot.  “I’ve picked up a bug,” she apologises profusely.

 

Lisa has a meningioma brain tumour – a benign tumour of the membranes that form the brain coverings.  Its positioned in the middle of her brain, but it’s not a lump.  It’s a mass of tumourous cells that are carpeting out and attaching themselves to her nerves.

 

“Its inoperable because if they tried to remove it I would be left paralysed or brain dead.”  So when she gets ill, the tumour swells and pushes on the nerves.  At Christmas, she was completely paralysed from the hip down, just because she had been struck by a common cold.

 

Although meningioma is known to be slow growing, Lisa’s tumour has increased by about three per cent in the past year.  She has started to get palsy in the left side of her face and the tumour has spread to her left ear.

 

She has been offered two types of radiotherapy treatment: Gamma Knife and Stereotactic.  She’d prefer the former as it’s just a quick burst of radioactivity rather than the latter, which involves a series of visits.  However, her tumour is slightly too big for the former treatments recommended size although the surgeons are willing to try it.  The decisions ultimately up to Lisa but she can’t make an informed choice because the doctors can’t tell her if it will be a success or not.

Cancer Patients Denied Wonder Drugs

 

 

 

CANCER patients in Islington are being denied a host of "very exciting" drugs proven to shrink tumours and prolong life - because the Primary Care Trust (PCT) says they cost too much.

In the last year, 10 patients have been turned down for drugs to fight forms of the disease including lung cancer, bowel cancer and leukaemia.

Islington PCT is allowed to offer the drugs by the government and other authorities around the country frequently do.

But Islington's "exceptional treatments panel", whose role is to weigh up the cost, said no.

One of the so-called "miracle drugs" denied to residents was Avastin, used to treat bowel cancer.

Lynne Winderer, who is dying from the disease and paying for the drug privately, told the Gazette how it had changed her life.

She said: "I have terminal cancer but Avastin is controlling it. It is extending my life and adding to my quality of life. I am reasonably healthy and it has not had side effects. I am proof that Avastin works. It is disgraceful that it is being denied to people in Islington."

Munira Wilson, spokeswoman for Beating Bowel Cancer said: "It is a scandal that bowel cancer patients in Islington are being denied Avastin which could stop further advancing of their cancer and lengthen their life.

"The value placed on their lives seems to be so minimal."

Ian Beaumont, of Bowel Cancer UK, said: "It is always disappointing when we hear of a PCT denying treatment that could help a patient to live a longer and better life.

"Appealing decisions is lengthy and distressing. In view of its effectiveness and benefit, we believe Avastin should be available on the NHS."

Also denied to Islington residents were the leukaemia drugs Dasatinib and Lenalidomide.

Expert Ken Campbell, of Leukaemia Research, said: "There is no question that Dasatinib works. The clinical evidence is strong. It can't cure it altogether but it can arrest the progress of the disease completely. There are incurable patients who started on it 10 years ago still alive today."

He added: "There is very exciting evidence that Lenalidomide works. It is a shame if these drugs are being denied on monetary grounds."

Lung cancer drug Tarceva was denied to two Islington residents.

Ciaran Devane, chief executive of cancer charity Macmillan, said: "Lung cancer is a devastating disease with few treatment options. Tarceva provides another option and gives patients extra time which can be extremely valuable to them and their families."

Lisa Connell, who has terminal brain cancer, called on Islington PCT to give the drugs to all residents.

She said: "What these people are going through is stressful enough. The drugs are out there. If people aren't getting them what was the point in inventing them?"

An Islington PCT spokeswoman said: "Drugs may be funded via the exceptional treatment panel if they are recommended by a GP or hospital consultant. All applications are considered by experts who have access to a range of medical advice.

"The panel ensures that health resources are put to the best possible use in the borough. The decision process is extremely rigorous, looking at the effectiveness, efficiency, and cost of each treatment request.

nlnews@archant.co.uk

Some Day my Prince Won't Come to Dinner

Model Donatella Panayiotou and Lisa Connell enjoy their night out at the expense of a German prince.

A GERMAN prince paid a king's ransom for a date with a former Camden schoolgirl - and then didn't turn up.

Lisa Connell, 28, set up rentadateforcharity.com after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Last week Prince Patrick von Anhalt paid more than £10,000 for a double date with both her and the model Donatella Panayiotou.

Sadly, the prince was unable to attend the date because of business commitments but he was gentlemanly enough to pay for the pair to have a meal together.

And all was not lost because Ms Connell did get to spend a fortnight in his luxury villa in Dubai beforehand.

[Read More...]

datingagency.com

Set up by Lisa Connell, a gorgeous, vivacious and very brave 28 year old, who sadly suffers from an inoperable brain tumour, rentadateforcharity.com was set up to help raise £1million pounds towards research into this, one of the most devastating of cancers, which typically affects young people.

Lisa has had a fair amount of press and media coverage, as you will see from the site, but she needs to maintain this profile to get anywhere near her target, especially as she is terminally ill.

[Read More...]

Date a Celebrity

Dev Alahan - Date a celebrity Find out how you can bid to bag a celebrity date and raise money for charity at the same time When Lisa Connell was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, she decided she would dedicate the rest of her life to raising money for research into this devastating condition. She came up with the idea 'rent a date for a charity' to raise money for Brain Tumour UK. This started up as a very small idea in which Lisa put herself up for auction and donated the money to the charity. Lisa decided that raising money through traditional means such as fun-runs was not enough for her and she wanted to create a way of fundraising that would create maximum exposure for the charity and be a lasting legacy. The result of this is Rent a Date for Charity.

[Read More...]

Date Me for £1million

EVERY Monday we bring you tales from the dating frontline. For most people it is all about finding "The One" but this week we speak to someone who has a very different reason for joining the dating game. Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour last year, Lisa Connell is aiming to raise £1million to fund research into the condition. To achieve this target, the 28-year-old Londoner is auctioning dates with herself. She has also recruited friends and celebs, including supermodel Sophie Anderton and Corrie's Jimmi Harkishin who will also offer themselves for dates through her website www.rentadateforcharity.com. They will go out with whoever pledges the most money to charity.

[Full Story...]

 

"I'm 28 and I've had to choose Death or Paralysis"

When Lisa Connell, 28, was diagnosed with a brain tumour, she assumed it'd be treated and she'd get better. But it wasn't that simple, and she had to make the biggest decision of her life

'Sitting in the doctor's office waiting for the results of my brain scan, I really hoped they would put my mind at rest, as I'd been having trouble with my eyes for weeks. But the doctor looked grim. "I'm sorry Lisa, it’s bad news, "The MRI scan shows a brain tumour. We don't know how long you have left - it could be years, months, or just weeks."

My world came crashing down. How? Why? The doctor explained the tumour was in such a difficult place, it was inoperable. I burst into tears. I'd come on my own as I wasn't expecting bad news. Sobbing, I stumbled into the toilets and called my dad. He had to try and take my news in and calm me down at the same time. Then I phoned my boyfriend Paul*, 28. Devastated, he rushed to hospital and took me to my mum's house in north London. We'd only been together four months, but he vowed to stick by me. "I'm here for you," he said. "We'll get through this".

A  few months earlier, life had been brilliant. I'd just returned home from travelling around Thailand and hoped to continue my career as a property manger. But then I developed a painful ear infection. I began getting dizzy spells and feeling sick. Then, driving down the motorway one day, my eyesight went blurry for a few seconds. When I got home I booked in to see an optician.

Thankfully, I was told I just had double vision and was prescribed special glasses. But they didn't help, so I was referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. "It looks like your eye muscles are weakening," the eye doctor said. "We'll do a brain scan to rule anything else out".

The hours following my diagnosis, in August 2006, became a blur. I sat on Mum's sofa, shocked to the core, while she cried next to me.

It was so unfair. I was a confident, happy young woman with everything to live for. The days and weeks that followed were hard. I was bewildered I didn't know what to think or what to do. My mind crept into the darkest places. I couldn't get suicide out of my head. "My life's over," I thought. The only thing that stopped me was thinking how my family would cope. I couldn't do that to them.

My family was determined never to give up hope and Dad paid for a second opinion - then a third, fourth and fifth. One said they could operate, but there was a 50 per cent chance I'd be left with brain damage and paralysis. Doctors explained that if my walnut-sized tumour, called Meningioma, had been anywhere else, it could have been cut off. But its location in the centre of my brain made it too dangerous. I faced a huge dilemma - stay as I was and die, or be treated and risk being left significantly worse off. "Please have the operation," mum begged. "You can live with me afterwards, I'll look after you."

The doctor gave me a few days to think about it. But it seemed to me the risks were too great. Even at my most ill, my quality of was higher than it could be if the operation went wrong. I couldn't think of anything else - die, or try to be saved and take the risk I'd be left in a vegetative state. It was a difficult decision, but in the end I had to think of myself. A few days later I told my parents I'd rather pass away as I was meant to, rather than prolong my life not being able to walk or talk. It was hard. Mum started crying, but my family backed my decision.

Weeks after the diagnosis, I got worse. My coordination was off and I kept collapsing. There was no way I could work, so I stayed around the flat all day. I had to crawl when I wanted the toilet or needed food from the kitchen. I broke the news to friends one y one when they visited, but it was almost like I as recounting a story rather than living it myself.

Paul tr3eid to help my stay upbeat, but cracks in our relationship began to show. He seemed to be struggling to cope, and we split a month after my diagnosis. "I can’t' be here for you as much as you need me to be," he said It was really hard to hear, but I agreed. I needed someone who wouldn’t be scared by my death. But I wondere3d: "If Paul feels like that, how will other guys feel?"

I don't know what I would've done without my family and friends. I was inspired by one of Dad's mates. He had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour 10 years before. Despite being given six months to live, he boosted his strength and coordination at the gym and is still alive now. Dad booked me a session with a personal trainer - it was just the focus I needed. Within a month, I was walking properly again - the stronger my body, the lesser the symptoms.

I started running and did the British 10k London Run in July.

Feeling happier and stronger, I've started going out with my mates again. But it's still tough getting on with my life with such an uncertain future. Doctors don’t know when my end will be - a few weeks or a few years. I go for regular check-up's so it's just a matter of waiting and watching. But that makes it harder, because I'm watching my every progress to see if I'm getting worse.

But I refuse to wait for my death. So, I've decided to do something positive and raise money for Brain Tumour UK. I've created a MySpace page and I'm auctioning dates on the internet. I've written: "I have an incurable brain tumour and I'm looking for people to make charitable bids to take me out for the evening." It's been good to occupy my mind.

Now, my friends make plans for the future - the same plans I had for marriage and children - but I can't, and some days I can't stop crying. But who knows what will happen? A pioneering new treatment might save the day. Whatever the outcome, for the moment, I feel life's for living'.

To contact Lisa for a charity date visit www.rentadateforcharity.com or for more information about her condition, visit www.braintumouruk.org.uk.

Words: Olivia Holcombe Photos: Anastasia Taylor-Lind & Claire Brand Hair & Make-up: Firyal Arneil Location: www.zownirlocations.com *Name has been changed

Rent a Date for Charity

A BARNET woman suffering from a life-threatening brain tumour  launched a dating website to raise money for Brain Tumour UK this week.

Lisa Connell, 29, has been unable to work since she was diagnosed with the tumour last year. Instead she has dedicated her efforts to setting up a website called 'Rent a Date for Charity'.

The site has already attracted the attention of the national press and a number of celebrities.

[Read More...]

Dream Date

A UNIQUE dating website raising money for charity officially launched this week with celebrity  backing and growing support.

Rentadateforcharity.com was the bright idea of Lisa Connell, from New Southgate.

Starting out as a MySpace web page with the help of some friends, it has now launched as a limited company with super model Sophie Anderton the first celebrity draw in a bid to raise £1million for Brain Tumour UK.

[Read More...]

Brave Lisa's Dating Site Attracts TV Celebrities

Three television personalities will be helping a former Bath schoolgirl launch the next phase of her £1m fundraising drive.Model and reality TV star Sophie Anderton has agreed to help launch a new dating auction website set up by Lisa Connell.

Coronation Street actor Jimmi Harkishin and TV presenter Gary McCausland have also signed up to the site.

The Chronicle reported in August how Miss Connell, a former student at St Mark's School, had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

Since then the 28-year-old, who now lives in London, has gained national support in her quest to raise £1m for the charity Brain Tumour UK before she dies.  [Read More...]

Interview: Lisa Connell, Charity Date Renter

When Lisa Connell hit the local press last month we were impressed b y her spirited determination and charitable entrepreneurship in the face of personal adversity. We caught up with her this weekend to find out how the fundraising's going, whether there's been any naughty business yet and just where should you take Barnet's finest once you've bid her up?

So, how’s the dating going?

Well its still in the early stages. I’ve managed to grab a date each week since the launch of the MySpace account and another candidate got taken out a couple of weeks ago to the theatre! We have raised a total of £777 so far. The preparations of the official site are coming along great and I hope to have the official launch in the last week of September. I was also approached by Phil Hall Associates, they are now my publicists, so things are definitely on the up! It’s all so very exciting. I’m overwhelmed with the general response that I'm getting.

[Read More...] 

Woman with Brain Tumour Auctions Herself and Friends Off for Charity

Last year, when Lisa Connell, 28, of London was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor, she didn't let herself wallow in self-pity: She was much too busy for that. Instead, she decided to help raise money for the charitable organization Brain Tumor UK with a fun and unique idea called Rent a Date for Charity.

To raise funds and awareness for brain tumor research, Connell decided to auction off herself, her friends, and local models for a night on the town with the highest bidder. The dates will take place in safe locations and all money raised from bidding will go directly to Brain Tumor UK.

[Read More...]

Getting a Date with Sophie Anderton might be Easier than you Think

Inspirational fundraiser persuades Sophie Anderton to put herself up for auction on charity website.

INSPIRATIONAL former Camden schoolgirl who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour has enlisted supermodel Sophie Anderton and a host of other stunning singletons to help her fundraising efforts.

Lisa Connell found out she had a tumour when she returned from travelling in Thailand last August and was warned she could have just weeks to live.

But a year on, instead of taking it easy, the former Camden School for Girls and Rhyl Street primary school pupil has set up the website rentadateforcharity.com, which will raise money for Brain Tumour UK.

[Read More...]

I Want to Raise £1million Before I Pass Way

A Terminally ill woman's attempt to raise £1 million for charity has turned her into a Cilla Black for the stars.Despite having an inoperable brain tumour, Lisa Connell has vowed to do everything she can to raise a seven-figure sum.

To help her towards the target she has launched a dating auction site - with model and reality TV star Sophie Anderton among those offering herself up for the first dates.

Lisa, 28, who used to live in Bath, went to see a doctor in August last year after suffering from dizzy spells.

The tumour was spotted and she was told it was inoperable.

[Read More...]

The Woman Aiming to Raise £1M Before she Dies

A Dying woman's bid to raise £1m has turned her into a celebrity matchmaker.

Former St Mark's School pupil Lisa Connell has an inoperable brain tumour but has vowed to do everything she can to raise a seven-figure sum for charity.

With that in mind she has launched a dating auction site to raise the cash - with model and reality TV star Sophie Anderton among those offering herself up for the first dates.

[Read More...]

Rent a Date to Save a Life

A BARNET woman suffering from a life-threatening brain tumour has come up w ith a novel way to raise money for charity - by auctioning off dates with herself and her friends.

Lisa Connell, 29, was diagnosed with the tumour last year. Unable to work since, she has dedicated her efforts to setting up a website called Rent a Date for Charity to raise funds and awareness for Brain Tumour UK.

Eligible bachelors and bachelorettes can place bids for the people they would like to take on a date. Whoever has bid the most money at the end of the week gets to wine and dine their partner of choice in a safe location agreed by Ms Connell.

[Read More...]