'I realised I had a brain tumour after an unusual craving - now I'm heading to the US in search of life-saving treatment'
A dad said he was on his 'last roll of the dice' after battling multiple brain tumours. Dan Horrocks was now heading to the US in search of potentially life-saving treatment as his 'biggest wish' was to live long enough to watch his two-year-old son grow up.
The 33-year-old was diagnosed with his first life-threatening tumour in August 2011. After brain surgery, he started getting regular scans - and was told he had another in May 2014, which required surgery and radiotherapy.
Dan developed an unusual symptom in July 2018, which resulted in a third mass being identified. He realised something was wrong when he began to crave olives, something he hadn't liked before.
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His latest tumours - one on his brain and another on his spine - were spotted in October. But after 14 years of radiotherapy, four brain surgeries, one spinal operation, and six-monthly scans, the father-of-one was almost out of treatment options.
Dan managed to raise more than £40,000 via a GoFundMe page to go to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, to explore pioneering treatments. The senior parliamentary researcher said: "I'm utterly bowled over and delighted with the amount of support and generosity we've received.
"I'm so shocked and overwhelmed with how quickly the money has come in. This could be the first step towards an innovative new treatment we can bring to the UK. The NHS staff have all been amazing - they said they can do surgeries but not much else more. That felt a bit like the end of a road and I've always tried to avoid that."
Dan and his wife, Sonia Khan, 32, who works in public affairs, have raised over £52,000 so far - smashing their initial fundraising goal. They said the cash would be spent on travel and consultations - including genetic tests on Dan and his tumour samples - to see if a personalised treatment can be found.
The couple both grew up near Birmingham, met in 2010 when Dan was studying politics and international relations at Aston University and Sonia was at college. They said if a treatment could be found in the US, they would need to fundraise again.
Dan, who is also a Metropolitan Special Constable, now living in Battersea London, was diagnosed with his first of four brain tumours after suffering excruciating headaches, sickness, and dizziness. He was given medication to help with his balance, advised to try acupuncture, and prescribed antidepressants. But eventually the golf-ball sized grade two benign tumour was diagnosed during a free eye test at Vision Express, when the optician spotted swelling on Dan's optic nerves.
After heading to A&E at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital, Dan had brain surgery the next day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, followed by radiotherapy. "I'm eternally grateful to that optician, that eye test saved my life - I never turn down a freebie," Dan said.
Following surgery, Dan had to learn to walk, talk and "think" again. He also had difficulty balancing, problems with hearing on his left side and reduced use of his left hand.
But despite his illness Dan graduated with a 2:2 degree and moved to London with Sonia in 2013. His second tumour was diagnosed after a routine scan, as was the third, which also resulted in odd symptoms, with Dan craving olives and wanting spinach and tomatoes for breakfast.
Dan was diagnosed with a stage three tumour in his brain and one in his spine in October, undergoing brain surgery in November and spinal surgery in December. However the tumours were now in his cerebral spinal fluid and 'travelling around' and could 'lead to many more tumours', he said.
He's now having radiotherapy on his brain and spine at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton - his last treatment option in the UK. Dan said he operated on an 'ignorance is bliss' protocol to help him cope, adding: "I don't ask the doctors for a prognosis because I don't want to know - my situation is so rare they wouldn't be able to tell me anyhow. I just go through every day and only think about this stuff if I have to.
"I find having a positive attitude is the only way forward. The treatment I'm having now puts me at three times the risk of heart attack or stroke."
Dan said his son Elijah was helping him cope, adding: "He's a great happy little boy and gives me new determination to get through this. The idea of him having to grow up without his dad is too upsetting."
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