Latest news with #brainTumour
The Sun
11 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
‘Brilliant dad', 51, dies just 10 DAYS after ‘first symptom' of killer tumour – having put early signs down to ‘age'
A "FIT and healthy" dad died just six days after being diagnosed with a killer tumour. Glenn Colmer had started suffering from symptoms a year earlier, but thought they were just to do with his age. 4 But on February 18 this year, the 51-year-old suffered a sudden seizure at his home in Southampton. He was rushed to hospital where a CT scan revealed a mass on his brain - and just days later, on February 22, he was diagnosed with a high-grade glioma - a type of brain tumour characterised by rapid growth and spread. The "much-loved" sports teacher, who his devastated wife Ali described as "strong, active, and the healthiest man [she] knew", tragically died on February 28. Now, Glenn's family are sharing his story to spread awareness of the "indiscriminate" cancer - and raise money for Brain Tumour Research. Ali said: "You never think it's going to happen to your family. Glenn was the healthiest man I knew: strong and active, full of life and laughter. "He was a brilliant husband, an incredible dad, and he had this amazing way of making people feel better just by being around them. "We always joked that he was invincible. "But brain tumours don't care how healthy, kind, or loved you are. They're cruel and indiscriminate. "And in the space of ten unthinkable days, we went from thinking Glenn had had a seizure, to holding his hand as he slipped away from us. "I want to share his story and raise awareness, because this shouldn't happen to anyone." Boy, 8, dies within hours of complaining of a headache when normally harmless flu infection spread to his brain In the year leading up to his death, Glenn had been suffering with fatigue, headaches, and dizziness and so visited his GP. Doctors however merely prescribed him with medication and glasses, which alleviated the pain, and so he thought his symptoms were just to do with his age. Things continued as normal until February 18, when Glenn, who had just woken up, froze while putting on his dressing gown. He was silent, and his left arm was locked in place - as he stared blankly ahead. His wife Ali said: "I asked if he was okay. He replied: 'No, I'm not.' Moments later, Glenn collapsed and began violently shaking, gasping for air. "I called an ambulance, staying calm for his sake, whispering words of reassurance until help arrived. His eyes were vacant. The trauma was immediate and life-altering Glenn Colmer "The paramedics were quick to respond. Although the seizure had passed, Glenn was in visible pain, particularly in his arm which had locked during the seizure. "His eyes were vacant. The trauma was immediate and life-altering." Glenn, who worked as the Director of Curriculum for Sports and Protective Services at Itchen Sixth Form College, was taken to hospital where he was told he had a mass on his brain. Four days later, he, Ali, and their two children Grace, 19, and Joe, 16, were told the mass was a high-grade glioma brain tumour - in a moment which changed their lives forever. Ali said: "It was horrendous. My world fell apart. "The doctor tried to explain the scan; Glenn didn't want to look. He couldn't. He wasn't ready. "His expression, once so full of life, humour, and warmth, was robbed from him, replaced with silence and vacancy. "His right side remained weak, and the vibrant man who once did every sport imaginable now needed help with the most basic tasks." Glenn was discharged from hospital but the pain worsened as he returned home. "For Glenn, a man who had been so fit and healthy, it was unbearable," Ali said. "He refused visitors. He didn't want people to see him this way." Quick decline By February 25, Glenn's pain was excruciating and another ambulance was called. A new MRI confirmed another bleed on Glenn's brain and he became fully paralysed on his right side. Over the next few days, Glenn declined further. He was vomiting, became unable to speak, and lost the ability to swallow. However, he continued to communicate with his family. Ali said: "He kept reaching for my engagement ring and the children's hands, squeezing tightly as if to say 'goodbye'. "He placed my hand on his heart, as if to say 'thank you'. Though no one had said it yet, I could see that Glenn was dying." He placed my hand on his heart, as if to say 'thank you'. Though no one had said it yet, I could see that Glenn was dying Glenn Colmer Glenn was moved to the ICU and placed on a ventilator, and his mum and brother joined Ali, Grace, and Joe at the hospital. Ali said: "Even as his body began to shut down and he was unable to speak, Glenn remained present. He kept reaching out, holding hands, squeezing gently." A neurosurgeon later confirmed the worst: that Glenn had suffered another catastrophic brain bleed and there was no hope of recovery. Ali was then forced to make the devastating decision to remove Glenn's life support - and he died surrounded by family. Glenn spent two decades at Itchen College - during which time he dedicated himself to nurturing young sports stars. Among those he mentored were former Southampton FC defender Aaron Martin, Olympic marathon runner Mahamed Mahamed, boxing champion Ryan Garner, and NBA basketball star Jeremy Sochan. Ali said: "Glenn was more than his diagnosis. He was a mentor, a joker, a passionate teacher and friend. "His funeral was a testament to the life he lived, over 500 people attended, including former students and colleagues from as far as the USA. "He touched lives across the world. He made people feel seen, valued, and inspired." Glenn's fundraiser 4 4 To commemorate his life and raise money for Brain Tumour Research, Glenn's family, friends, and colleagues have organised a charity golf day on August 1 at Southampton Municipal Golf Course - Glenn's favourite. Glenn's son Joe will tee off the event, and a memorial bench is planned for the 18th hole. So far, more than £3,000 has been raised in Glenn's honour. Katrina Jones, head of Community and Digital Fundraising at Brain Tumour Research, said: "We are deeply grateful to Glenn's family and friends for bravely sharing his story. "Glenn's sudden and devastating diagnosis highlights the cruel reality of brain tumours: they can strike anyone, at any time, regardless of health or lifestyle. "His legacy as a much-loved teacher and mentor lives on in the lives he touched, and now in the vital awareness and funds being raised in his name. "We desperately need more investment in research to improve outcomes and offer hope to families like Glenn's." Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer - and more men under 75 than prostate cancer. Yet, just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to brain tumours. To donate to Glenn's fundraiser, visit his GoFundMe page. The most common symptoms of a brain tumour More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives. The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity. Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis. There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment. Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return. Brain tumours can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS. They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision. The nine most common symptoms are: Headaches Seizures Feeling sick Being sick Memory problems Change in personality Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body Vision problems Speech problems If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP. Source: NHS
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
'Healthy' father-of-two, 51, told his symptoms were due to needing new glasses - but it was a brain tumour. He died just six days after diagnosis
A 'fit and healthy' father-of-two dismissed aches and pains he suffered for a year as signs of ageing—before being diagnosed with a brain tumour and dying less than a week later, his devastated wife has revealed. Sports teacher Glenn Colmer, 51, was hit by a massive, sudden seizure at his home in Southampton on February 18, and was rushed to hospital. Scans revealed a mass on his brain—and four days after, medics diagnosed a high-grade glioma, one of the deadliest types of brain tumour. He died on February 28, with his wife, Ali, and their two children Grace, 19, and Joe, 16, and other close family at his bedside. In the year leading up to his death, Mr Colmer had been suffering from unusual fatigue, headaches, and dizzy spells. His GP prescribed pain medicine and suggested he may need new glasses—and, according to Ali, he believed his symptoms were simply due to his age. Still reeling from the loss, she described her late husband as 'strong, active, and the healthiest man [she] knew'. Mr Colmer's family are sharing his story to spread awareness of the 'indiscriminate' cancer —and raise money for Brain Tumour Research. Ali said: 'In the space of ten unthinkable days, we went from thinking Glenn had had a seizure, to holding his hand as he slipped away from us. 'You never think it's going to happen to your family. Glenn was the healthiest man I knew: strong and active, full of life and laughter. 'He was a brilliant husband, an incredible dad, and he had this amazing way of making people feel better just by being around them. 'We always joked that he was invincible.' The seizure was the first sign that something was seriously wrong, recalls Ali. Mr Colmer had not long woken up, when he froze while putting on his dressing gown. He was silent, and his left arm was locked in place—as he stared blankly ahead. Ali said: 'I asked if he was okay. He replied: "No, I'm not." Moments later, Glenn collapsed and began violently shaking, gasping for air. 'I called an ambulance, staying calm for his sake, whispering words of reassurance until help arrived. 'The paramedics were quick to respond. Although the seizure had passed, Glenn was in visible pain, particularly in his arm which had locked during the seizure. 'His eyes were vacant. The trauma was immediate and life-altering.' Glenn, who worked as the Director of Curriculum for Sports and Protective Services at Itchen Sixth Form College, was taken to hospital where he was told he had a mass on his brain. Four days later, he, Ali, and their two children Grace, 19, and Joe, 16, were told the mass was a high-grade glioma brain tumour. These are fast-growing brain tumours that are often fatal, even with treatment. The most aggressive form, glioblastoma, can progress rapidly—sometimes within days—leaving little time for diagnosis or intervention. In the UK, around 2,200 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma—the most common high-grade glioma—each year. The disease killed the Labour politician Dame Tessa Jowell in 2018. And in March 2022, The Wanted singer Tom Parker died following an 18-month battle with the cancer. Globally, glioblastoma affects between three and five people per 100,000 annually. While rare compared to other cancers, they are disproportionately deadly, with a five-year survival rate of less than 5five per cent. Recalling the moment of her husband's diagnosis, Ali said: 'It was horrendous. My world fell apart. 'The doctor tried to explain the scan; Glenn didn't want to look. He couldn't. He wasn't ready. 'His expression, once so full of life, humour, and warmth, was robbed from him, replaced with silence and vacancy. 'His right side remained weak, and the vibrant man who once did every sport imaginable now needed help with the most basic tasks.' Glenn was discharged from hospital but the pain worsened as he returned home. 'For Glenn, a man who had been so fit and healthy, it was unbearable,' Ali said. 'He refused visitors. He didn't want people to see him this way.' By February 25, Glenn's pain was excruciating and another ambulance was called. A new MRI confirmed a bleed on Glenn's brain and he lost the use of the right side of his body. Over the next few days, Glenn declined further. He was vomiting, became unable to speak, and lost the ability to swallow. However, he continued to communicate with his family. Ali said: 'He kept reaching for my engagement ring and the children's hands, squeezing tightly as if to say "goodbye". 'He placed my hand on his heart, as if to say "thank you". Though no one had said it yet, I could see that Glenn was dying.' Glenn was moved to the ICU and placed on a ventilator, and his mum and brother joined Ali, Grace, and Joe at the hospital. Ali said: 'Even as his body began to shut down and he was unable to speak, Glenn remained present. He kept reaching out, holding hands, squeezing gently.' A neurosurgeon later confirmed the worst: that Glenn had suffered another catastrophic brain bleed and there was no hope of recovery. Ali was then forced to make the devastating decision to remove Glenn's life support— and he died surrounded by family. Glenn spent two decades at Itchen College—during which time he dedicated himself to nurturing young sports stars. Among those he mentored were former Southampton FC defender Aaron Martin, Olympic marathon runner Mahamed Mahamed, boxing champion Ryan Garner, and NBA basketball star Jeremy Sochan. Ali said: 'Glenn was more than his diagnosis. He was a mentor, a joker, a passionate teacher and friend. 'His funeral was a testament to the life he lived, over 500 people attended, including former students and colleagues from as far as the USA. 'He touched lives across the world. He made people feel seen, valued, and inspired.' To commemorate his life and raise money for Brain Tumour Research, Glenn's family, friends, and colleagues have organised a charity golf day on August 1 at Southampton Municipal Golf Course - Glenn's favourite. Glenn's son Joe will tee off the event, and a memorial bench is planned for the 18th hole. So far, more than £3,000 has been raised in Glenn's honour. To donate, visit their JustGiving page. Katrina Jones, head of Community and Digital Fundraising at Brain Tumour Research, said: 'We are deeply grateful to Glenn's family and friends for bravely sharing his story. 'Glenn's sudden and devastating diagnosis highlights the cruel reality of brain tumours: they can strike anyone, at any time, regardless of health or lifestyle. 'His legacy as a much-loved teacher and mentor lives on in the lives he touched, and now in the vital awareness and funds being raised in his name. 'We desperately need more investment in research to improve outcomes and offer hope to families like Glenn's.' Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer - and more men under 75 than prostate cancer. Yet, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to brain tumours.
The Sun
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
The 6 shockingly easy-to-miss signs of the UK's deadliest cancers revealed – are you at risk?
THE six deadliest cancers in the UK have been identified in a new report - accounting for 67,000 deaths every year. The Government is now being urged to prioritise faster diagnosis of these cancers, after data revealed early diagnosis could save 7,500 lives annually. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Less Survivable Cancers has released a new report outlining the current deadliest cancers, which include: Brain tumours Liver cancer Lung cancer Pancreatic cancer Oesophageal cancer Stomach cancer In the UK, the current five-year survival rate for these cancers is just 16 per cent. And as it stands, just 28 per cent of these cancers are diagnosed at stage one or two, compared to 54 per cent of all cancers. The APPG has identified that faster diagnosis is critical for improving people's access to treatment and ultimately their chance of survival. But one of the barriers is early diagnosis, including the fundamental challenge of detecting these cancers early due to their often vague and non-specific symptoms. We look at some of easy to miss symptoms of each of the cancers below. Brain tumour Brain tumour symptoms can be difficult to spot and may develop slowly and subtly, or not at all, especially with slower-growing tumours. Symptoms can also be attributed to other conditions or overlooked. A headache, while a common symptom, is often easy to dismiss, but it can be an early sign of a brain tumour. I spotted a new lump on my body every day for a week - the cause was terrifying Brain tumour headaches are often described as dull, constant, and pressure-like, but they can also be throbbing. A headache that gets worse over time, doesn't respond to over-the-counter pain relievers, or is accompanied by other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, seizures, or vision changes, should be evaluated by a doctor. Liver cancer 4 Liver cancer symptoms can be difficult to spot, especially in the early stages. Many people with primary liver cancer don't experience any symptoms until the cancer has progressed, or they may experience vague symptoms that are easily attributed to other causes. Everyone experiences tiredness at some point, and in many cases, it's a normal response to physical activity, stress, or lack of sleep. However unexplained fatigue is a common symptom of liver cancer, often occurring as the body struggles to cope with the cancerous cells. This fatigue is different from normal tiredness and doesn't improve with rest or sleep. Lung cancer People often associate lung cancer with a persistent cough that won't go away, breathlessness, and coughing up blood. But a common, yet easy-to-miss, sign is finger clubbing, where the fingertips and nails appear wider and more rounded, sometimes with a spoon-like shape. While lung cancer is the most common cause, finger clubbing can also be associated with other lung or heart conditions, as well as some gastrointestinal issues. It's important to remember that finger clubbing can have various causes, so if you notice changes in your fingers, you should consult your doctor to rule out any underlying conditions. Pancreatic cancer Unexplained or unintentional weight loss can be a normal occurrence due to various factors, including stress, changes in diet, or medication side effects. But it can also be a sign of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can disrupt the body's metabolism, leading to a breakdown of muscle and fat, even without changes in eating or digestion. Unexplained weight loss related to pancreatic cancer often occurs before other, more noticeable symptoms like jaundice or abdominal pain. Oesophageal cancer Many symptoms of oesophageal cancer develop gradually, making it difficult to pinpoint when they began or attribute them to cancer. One symptom often overlooked is difficulty swallowing. While it can be a symptom of many different medical conditions, including nervous system and brain disorders, muscle disorders and physical blockages in your throat, it can signal the oesophagus narrowing due to cancer. A person with oesophageal cancer may feel like food is getting stuck in their throat or chest, and swallowing may become uncomfortable or painful. This feeling can worsen over time as the cancer progresses. Stomach cancer 4 Yes, stomach cancer symptoms are often vague and can be easily missed or mistaken for other conditions, especially in the early stages. Many early signs are common gastrointestinal issues, such as heartburn, indigestion, bloating, and abdominal pain. A persistent feeling of fullness after eating small amounts of food, known as early satiety, can be an easily missed symptom of stomach cancer. This feeling, which may be uncomfortable and last longer than usual fullness, is a red flag that should be investigated by a doctor. To drive earlier and faster diagnosis, the APPG report recommends 12 actions for the Government, including investing in research and the implementation of detection tests and tools, supporting campaigns to raise awareness of the symptoms of the deadliest cancers and appointing a named government lead to develop and coordinate a strategy to improve survival rates. Paulette Hamilton MP, Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on Less Survivable Cancers, said: 'Our inquiry has revealed that we are at a crucial moment for transforming patient outcomes and accelerating survival rates for the less survivable cancers. "We're on the brink of research breakthroughs and in the midst of developing potentially game-changing Government health reforms. In this backdrop, achieving faster diagnosis for these devastating cancers is finally within reach.' Alfie Bailey-Bearfield, Chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, said: 'Late diagnosis costs lives, particularly in the case of less survivable cancers. Inaction is simply not an option. "As a country we must invest in greater research and support innovative detection tests to ensure that every patient diagnosed with these aggressive diseases receives timely and equitable access to the best possible care. 'For too long, the less survivable cancers have been left behind. The National Cancer Plan and Rare Cancers Bill offer a real opportunity to tackle the systemic barriers affecting earlier and faster diagnosis and drive further progress for the less survivable cancers and we need to see the Government grasping this opportunity with both hands.' Cancer screenings in England CATCHING cancer early gives you the best chance of survival, and a huge part of that is attending regular screenings. NHS programmes can help diagnose the disease, or your risk of it, and improve the likelihood of successful treatment. There are three national screening programmes in England: cervical screening, breast screening and bowel screening. "If you are eligible, please make every effort to have your screening test as they can detect a problem early, before you have any symptoms. ," the NHS says. "Finding out about a problem early can mean that treatment is more effective." Cervical screening This is offered in England to people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 and is routinely carried out every three years up to the age of 49, and every five from 50 to 64. Depending on the result, people may be recalled earlier. During a cervical screening, samples are tested for high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes nearly all cervical cancers. Those that test positive are then analysed further. Breast screening Breast screenings, which involve an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel, are usually offered to women aged 50 to 71 in England. But the NHS is trialling them for women under 50 if they have a high risk of developing breast cancer. Bowel screening This test detects whether patients are showing any early signs of cancer. It is available to everyone aged 50 to 74, with at-home kits automatically sent out every two years, so make sure your GP has your correct address. The test involves providing a small poo sample to be checked for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by cancer. If you're 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60. Source: NHS
BBC News
21 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'Cycling naked is nothing compared to tumour pain'
"I would happily go cycle naked around the capital 100 times in a row than go through having my brain tumour again."Those are the words of Stephen Lewis, who will take on the World Naked Bike Ride in London with his partner on 14 couple from Newark in Nottinghamshire will be raising money for the mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) because of their struggles after Mr Lewis's diagnosis and treatment of a brain 38-year-old, who works as a train driver, says he had his work and life upended by the cholesterol granuloma between his brain and eye socket, and still deals with the aftermath two years later. "When I first had symptoms I wasn't overly sort of bothered by them," Mr Lewis had started to experience double vision in 2023 and saw an optician, who assured him it was normal for someone his after feeling that something was not right in his body, he sought out an MRI scan which revealed the tumour."I remember the room turning into like this tunnel, and Shayne was sat to my left, and I completely shut down."He was asking all the right questions, but I remember at that point, I sort of went into this self-preservation mode, and because of the nature of it no-one truly knew how to operate." 'Mentally exhausted' After visiting hospitals in Nottingham, Sheffield, and Lincoln, a surgeon in Leicester figured out how to proceed with the removal, Mr Lewis was told the tumour might be cancerous, and there was no way of knowing until it would have been taken Lewis said that was when doctors told him to consider writing his turned out the tumour between his eye socket and brain was a cholesterol granuloma, which is a type of benign the successful removal, the ordeal left Mr Lewis feeling at his "lowest" afterwards."I held myself up strong the whole time, being strong for everyone else as well because it upsets so many family members, especially my mum," he said."Perhaps after it all, because I had done that so hard, maybe my brain was mentally exhausted from it, and I finally felt the true nature of what I went through." He feared the tumour would stop him from working as a train driver, which had been his "goal in life".Despite his recovery progress, he can currently only work up to three days a week because of his medication, although he said this should be only was one of his partner's friends who invited the pair to take part in the World Naked Bike Ride to commemorate the overcoming of the health scare."I thought, not a chance," Mr Lewis recalls of his initial reaction. "Then I sat on it and thought, you know what, if I could go through what I went through with my brain tumour, then I can do anything."I figured as well, because of the impact that all this has had on my mental health, I'd like to sort of strip away the stigma." He said there were lingering elements of the railway industry being "male-oriented", which made it important to encourage people to talk about their mental health."I thought by doing this bold move, it'll gain people's interest, and it has really," he said."It's raised a lot of conversations, certainly with colleagues, talking about their own mental health stories, so in my eyes it's really worked."The route of the World Naked Bike Ride will see the pair cycle through some of London's busiest areas bearing it from across the world will depart at 14:50 BST on 14 June from Regents Park.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
At 20 I was told I had a brain tumour. A clinical trial changed everything
Of all the things I thought might happen when I went off to university, being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness wasn't one of them. You don't consider the prospect of getting seriously ill when you're a healthy man in your early 20s. It's something that happens to other people, ones that you'll never meet, who surely aren't much like you at all. But there I was in the doctor's office in 2019, aged 20, being told that I had a brain tumour. To be precise, it was a grade one pilocytic astrocytoma, a slow-growing lump the size of a walnut where my head meets my spine. I'd never heard of it before, despite the fact that young adults like me are more likely to get a tumour of this sort than any other. Just the sound of it, the long, complicated medical term that made everything 10 times scarier, was more serious than anything I was equipped to deal with at that age. When the news came, my mum stared at me, clearly in shock and looking for anything to say that would make it better. My dad burst into tears. I had never seen him sob like that before. I coped with humour. 'Well, isn't that a shocker?' I said to the doctor. I took a photo that I thought was funny and sent it to all of my friends, with the caption: 'Guess who has a brain tumour'. It was only when I got home the following night that the bad news sunk in. Alone in my room, with no one to put on a brave face for, I cried and cried for hours, thinking that my life was completely over. I took another photo, knowing that it would be my lowest moment. I didn't show that to anyone. I'd always been fit and healthy. I was into skiing and snowboarding, but what I really loved was football. I was well-liked at university, making a huge group of friends that I'd play friendlies and go on nights out with. But then I started to get this strange 'fuzzy' feeling, first in my arm and then in my lower body. It took more effort to kick a ball about, as if my leg had become too heavy to lift. I studied product design at Nottingham Trent, so I was working with my hands most of the time, and a few weeks after that, I found that I was struggling to move my fingers, too. At the time I was training for a marathon with some of my sporty friends, doing long runs multiple times a week, so I put it all down to fatigue. Then one day, as I was working, my hands started to shake uncontrollably. I phoned my mum straight away, and that's when she told me that I should go to the doctor, just to check that everything was fine. At my initial appointment I was actually told that I 'definitely have multiple sclerosis'. I went to my brother's birthday party straight afterwards, and my mum said that that couldn't be right, and that I should get a scan to see what the problem really was. It was a relief: she's always right when it comes to health issues, and most people who have MS aren't diagnosed until their 30s. That's how I ended up in the doctor's office receiving my diagnosis, after a brain scan. The tumour in my head had been growing for years, and it was just starting to reveal itself, leaking fluid and pushing on the nerves that send signals to my arms and legs and causing the 'fuzziness' I felt. Survival rates for this kind of tumour are high, at over 90 per cent, but that statistic hides just how debilitating it is to have a massive growth in your head. So does the fact that tumours like mine are 'benign', or non-cancerous. It wasn't necessarily good news. This only means that chemotherapy doesn't work, 'so we have to operate,' said the doctor. It would be a major surgery that required weeks of recovery, but that was meant to be fairly low-risk. This is where my problems really started. A week after my diagnosis, I was introduced to the oncology team (who deal with benign tumours too) at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, and the following month I had my operation. It was a planned two-hour surgery to remove the fluid that had leaked out, and then the tumour itself. When the doctors went to tackle the growth, though, my brain collapsed in on itself and I suffered a major stroke. When I woke up, I couldn't walk. I had lost most of my ability to speak, too. All I could say was 'yes' and 'go away'. I'd been told by my surgeons that this could happen, but that the risk was 'less than 1 per cent'. Again, I thought that the unlucky person in every hundred would be someone else, and I'd soon be able to go back to my normal life. So I was unlucky twice, and left with little chance of ever walking or speaking normally again. It took a lot of rehab, speech therapy, and proton beam therapy (a kind of radiotherapy to incinerate and shrink the tumour since it can't be removed) for me to get back on my feet. I can speak normally now, but I still don't have movement in my right hand, and my right leg lags behind me when I walk. So much for football. My life was far from normal. I was left with headaches and a massive amount of fatigue, but worst of all were my seizures. I had seven in as many months, and when each came, I was convinced that I was dying. I saw flashes of light, colours and patterns. Thankfully my mum is a nurse, and my sister is a paramedic, so there was always help to hand. I remember once coming around and seeing my mum and three of her friends – all nurses – standing over me. It was July 2020, and they'd been on a WhatsApp call when my seizure started. We live in a tiny village, so they all rushed over to help. Outside there were three ambulances and a paramedic car. It made me feel so ill and so helpless. I was pretty much resigned to being ill forever. I was already on anti-seizure medication, and yet they kept coming. But my mum didn't give up hope: she and my oncologist, Dr Helen Benghiat, searched dozens of websites for clinical trials, and finally Dr Benghiat found a trial that I might have been eligible for in the United States, via the Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK (part of HCA Healthcare UK), for a new drug that could potentially shrink brain tumours. I haven't had a seizure since starting the trial in 2021, and my tumour has shrunk slightly. It certainly isn't growing, which means that I can get on with my recovery in a way that I couldn't before. Being on a clinical trial changed my life in other ways, too. It gave me the chance to feel that I was making a real difference when my life had changed hugely, and I didn't know what the future would hold. I was surrounded by people on other trials for different types of cancers and there was a sense that we were all in it together. It also meant that I had access to regular check-ups and brain scans to monitor my progress, something I wouldn't have had on the NHS. The reassurance that all is going well has allowed me to move on in a way I never could have otherwise. At 26, I still live at home with my parents, which isn't how I thought my life would be. I'm making progress, but I'm not the popular, care-free young man I was. One of the hardest and most shocking things about becoming seriously ill was seeing my friends disappear. I was well and truly 'ghosted': people I thought I was close with, and would have stuck with through anything, vanished completely. I imagine they just didn't want to think about the dark side of life that what happened to me had thrown up. On the other hand, I've had support from places I never would have imagined. I started doing coffee mornings for The Brain Tumour Charity, which some of my old friends from school turned out to. One of those people was my girlfriend, Lucy. Six months ago she messaged me on Facebook asking for the details to come along. At the event itself, we clicked instantly, and we've been together ever since. It's hard to picture the future when you have a serious illness. Not long ago, I thought I'd never get married or have kids – why burden someone else with a problem like this? But Lucy has changed all of that for me. I keep telling her that I won't blame her if this all becomes too much and she needs to leave, but she keeps telling me that she wants to be with me and to help me as I recover. I'm back at work, with a part-time job managing mobile phone contracts for the NHS. Everyone I work with is incredibly understanding, giving me time off for appointments and fatigue when I just can't make it in. I finished my product design degree in three years despite my brain tumour. As part of my coursework I made a discreet seizure protection hat. At the time I was being told that I needed to wear a seizure helmet in case I hurt myself, but they're just so ugly and obvious. I couldn't imagine myself wearing one on a night out, and I knew lots of other people my age must have felt the same. I'd love to roll the cap out to other people. I wear it myself for now, just in case my seizures come back. Now I'm a young ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity. There were 21 of us in total when I joined, but now there are just 18. It's something that I do feel guilty about. As the first person in Britain to join the clinical trial that has let me lead a close-to-normal life, there's a cloud hanging over me, the sense that I was lucky when others weren't. That really hit home at the funeral for one of my best friends Harry Thompson, another ambassador, who died at the end of November last year. He was only 23.
