In Hope

Freyja Hanstein was enveloped by grief after losing her husband to abdominal cancer just a month after they were married. Within a year she was fighting her own battle with the disease and underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour. She has now developed the app WholesomeWorld bringing together scientific and lifestyle information designed for patients and those supporting them through treatment.

Single dad Gary Fordham, 43, was diagnosed with a golf ball-sized brain tumour after passing out at the wheel of his van on the M6 motorway. It happened on New Year’s Eve 2018, when he suffered a seizure on his way home to Bradford after visiting his parents in Swindon for Christmas. Gary was in the van with his dog, a ‘shug’ called Buster, and his 11-year-old son Hayden. All three miraculously survived. Since the near-fatal accident, Gary has gone on to have an awake craniotomy to remove the tumour. He is now waiting to have a titanium plate fitted to replace part of his skull, since he developed an infection following his brain surgery. 

Gary Nelson, from Chester, is in the throes of battling his third brain tumour and is undergoing six months of chemotherapy to try to control the disease. The dad-of-one’s brain tumour journey began in 1985 when, at the age of seven, he was diagnosed with a low-grade tumour, which was successfully treated with neurosurgery and a gruelling course of radiotherapy. Having already overcome the most unimaginable hurdles, Gary and his wife Amy continue to stay brave and positive, as they turn to fundraising to give them a positive focus and to fight for other sufferers and their loved ones.

Gavin had recently become a father and had been married for just six weeks when he was diagnosed with cancer of the spine which had metastasised to his brain. His new wife and baby daughter had to move temporarily from Cornwall to Bristol to be with him as he underwent surgery and radiotherapy treatment.

For first-time parents Stephanie Day and James Devlin, it was devastating to be told their new-born baby George had a brain tumour. ‘Gorgeous George’ underwent a nine-hour craniotomy when he was just 10 weeks old and is now a healthy and happy little boy. His mum Stephanie, 27, who was shocked that someone so young could be diagnosed with such a serious condition, is keen to raise awareness of the disease.

Gordon was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 32, after first being told he had probably a stroke and then possibly he was HIV positive. He started writing comics to help his friends and family understand cancer and as something cathartic for himself, but is now publishing them, as well as exhibiting the comics to a wider audience. He feels happy and settled, but his seizures are a constant reminder that his life is very uncertain.

“Having a brain tumour has changed the way I live my life. When I am in my happy head, I often think I might not see too many more of these times, so I try to recognise good moments when I am in them and thank people who are there sharing them with me. Compared with so many people I feel very lucky that I got away with it so lightly. I have had no long-term effects from my treatment apart from hair loss, but I have my beard as compensation for that!”