In Hope

Dan was at university when he started to suffer from crippling headaches which led to his eventual diagnosis with a grade 3 ependymoma brain tumour. Ten years on, he has had surgery three times and undergone radiotherapy. Although he lives with the knowledge that his tumour could return, he is optimistic about the future, having just moved into a new flat with his wife and working as a parliamentary researcher at Westminster.

After suffering seizures, former soldier Dan Mason, 33, was diagnosed with a pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma – a very rare and incurable type of brain tumour. He was forced to quit the job he loved and lost his driving licence, yet still faced his diagnosis with positivity. A tattoo across his chest, which translates to ‘think positive, be strong’, reminds Dan to live in the moment, despite the pressure his illness places on him, his wife Roz and his children Caleb, 10, and Daisy, two.

“Emotionally, things were tough. I remember standing outside the hospital, in my army uniform, crying. My friends and family members didn’t know how to react or how to comfort me and that was really hard to deal with.”

Dan Potts, 46, from Cumbria, loved going to the gym and keeping active with his wife Liah. He started getting headaches in December 2018, but it took two years and three MRI scans for Dan to be diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour. He had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and he is on four different medications to try and control his seizures. Dan and Liah are now preparing for their “last Christmas together”. They are crowdfunding for Brain Tumour Research and to make final memories.

Former professional footballer Danielle Gibbons, from Chorley in Lancashire, was 23 when she was diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumour, growing on the vestibulocochlear nerve, which helps to control hearing and balance. Just over a year later she was back on the pitch and, in November 2015, she received a Special Recognition Award at her club’s Player of the Year Awards. She’s no longer playing football for a living but 27-year-old Danielle is channelling her active and competitive nature into a fundraising challenge to raise awareness of brain tumours.

After experiencing months of painful headaches and issues with her balance, flight attendant, Danielle Louise Gould was diagnosed with a cerebellar hemangioblastoma brain tumour in 2012. Though her tumour was categorised as low-grade and not aggressive, Danielle still had to undergo 8 surgeries to remove the tumour and control the fluid build-up on her brain. With the support of her family, boyfriend and twin sister Cherise, Danielle rebuilt her life after the tumour and remains determined to continue working on her bucket list of goals with her sister before they turn 30 next year.

“I was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where an MRI scan revealed the nature of my tumour. It showed I had a tumour the size of a pea called a cerebellar hemangioblastoma in the centre of my brain, surrounded by a layer of fluid. This build-up of fluid, the size of an egg, was pushing on the cerebellum, which is the part of my brain that controls balance, movement and coordination.”

Darcy was 21 months old when she was finally diagnosed with a brain tumour, but her mother had to fight to get medics to listen.  She was still undergoing chemotherapy when her mother, Debbie was diagnosed with incurable cancer.

“Less than a year after Darcyana was diagnosed with a brain tumour, I found a lump in my breast…. I underwent a bone marrow biopsy which revealed that I had secondary breast cancer which had already spread to my bones. I didn’t think lightning could strike twice.”

In May 2014, Dave Bolton, from the Wirral, Merseyside, suffered a nocturnal seizure, which led to the dad-of-two being diagnosed with a tennis ball-sized tumour in the frontal lobe of his brain. He underwent a life-saving craniotomy and the histology report showed it was a grade 2 astrocytoma, carrying with it a life expectancy of just five years. The Royal Air Force veteran, who was a serving police officer at the time of his diagnosis, was deemed unfit to resume full duties and was forced to take medical retirement. Dave went on to qualify as a strength and conditioning coach, specialising in rugby and combat sports and he set up a website to publicly document his treatment and diet regime, in order to support fellow patients. Seven years post-diagnosis, Dave’s scan results remain stable and he continues to offer advice and encouragement to others on similar journeys. 

Father-of-four David Stubbs, from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with a grade 1 meningioma in July 2021 at the age of 43, after suspected long COVID symptoms led to his diagnosis. As well as painful headaches and problems with his vision, David experienced a change in personality and extreme weight gain, later realising it was linked to his brain tumour. David lives with side effects of the tumour and is working with three leading brain tumour charities to raise awareness and fundraise to help other people living with their diagnosis.