My Story

WHERE WE ARE NOW, 2023.

so, just over 6 years on from my husband John being diagnosed with a GLIOBLASTOMA GRADE 4 brain tumour and given 15 months to live, I am pleased to say to say he is still with us and defied all odds X

John is now 58 years old, I Rachel, John's wife am 53, our son Charlie is now 20 and our beloved dog/princess is now 10 (she has been with us throughout all of this and helped us all beyond words X)

Obviously it's been a very difficult 6 years but with a lot of happy times in between making happy memories, but now for some reason, a lot of side effects from treatments at the beginning have decided to appear, Depression, Anxiety and Neuropathy:-

Neoropathic pain is caused by damage from his cancer treatment to the nerves in his fingers, face but mainly his feet, the pain is usually described as a burning sensation and effected areas are often sensitive to touch.  Symptoms of neuropathic pain may also include excruciating pain, pins and needles, difficulty correctly sensing temperatures and numbness.  Some people may find it hard to wear thick clothes as even slight pressure can aggricate the pain.

YET!!! Despite all of this, John is now in training to run the "LONDON MARATHON" !!! in April this year, how proud we are of him x it's going to be tough but also enjoyable and what an achievement, this is his next goal in life and has given him something once again to strive for.

I am also running it with him and with myself having COPD, I find it hard sometimes to run as breathing can be an issue but running is very good for me Mentally and Physically, I've only been running a few years and for me, this is also a huge achievement and even though I ran it in 2021, the dread is starting to kick in LOL. Thats enough about me 😉 this is about raising awareness and money for our chosen charity "THE BRAIN TUMOUR CHARITY" unfortunately Brain Tumours seem to be increasing massively and we need to help with raising much needed funds for research to save lives x

Thank you 💖

JOHNS STORY FROM THE BEGINNING

At the beginning of 2016 at the age of 51 I started training for my first triathlon to raise money for prostate cancer research. Having played rugby for many years when younger and having looked after myself physically, since stopping playing rugby, the triathlon training went well.

As the triathlon got closer I noticed I started to lose a bit of strength in my left side which I put down to a possible trapped nerve and on a couple of occasions when out running I had to stop as I was struggling to swallow which I put down to pushing myself to hard.

I am please to say though, that I managed to complete the triathlon and actually got first place in my age group. 

However, when out running after the completion of the triathlon I once again had to stop due to struggling to swallow which then resulted in me having a small facial seizure which again I put down to running too far.

Unfortunately these facial seizures became more regular and severe and occurred even when not out running which made me realise something was not right. Under pressure from my wife, I visited the doctors who initially felt it was a nerve issue and organised a neurologist to see me who then subsequently organised further nerve tests and an MRI scan.

At this stage my seizures were getting more severe and regular and I started to struggle to cope with basic issues at work and home due to memory loss, blurred vision, loss of feeling down my left side etc, again, under pressure from my wife who had to push the MRI scan by contacting the hospital direct, had managed to get the scan prioritised and the subsequent results showed I had a brain tumour, within a week I was being operated for the removal of the tumour which was considered a success.

However, having been sent off for a biopsy, it was found to be a “GLIOBLASTOMA” this is a rare aggressive stage 4 brain cancer that is untreatable and I was therefore given the highly unexpected final

prognosis that the cancer I have is terminal.

My initial response was one if shock, sadness and anger which very quickly changed into determination, to enjoy the life I have left and to fight the disease for as long as possible.

Soon after finding out about my tumour, we have set up a fundraising plan for the “THE BRAIN TUMOUR CHARITY” to help in the research of finding a cure for this strain of cancer. As part of an on going plan of raising money for this cause, we held a very successful sportsmans dinner which took take place in September 2017 to raise money and awareness of this disease and many other smaller events in the years to come.

One thing that is very important to me now is that people become aware of the symptoms of this form of cancer as there is no doubt in my mind that the earlier it is picked up, the easier it is to treat and many of the symptoms you may not associate with a brain tumour.

As of February 2018, I am now an ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity and as a family, we are determined to increase awareness and to raise as much money as we can to helping its research.

August 2018 feeling a little stronger, i started training for my 1st ever HALF MARATHON to raise some more much needed money which took place in Leicester in October, it was tough for me to say the least, but I completed it!!!

I am now thinking about my next challenge 

Thank you for taking time in reading our brief story X