In Hope

Corin Snell, of Ixworth in Suffolk, is now registered blind having been diagnosed with a low-grade meningioma in February 2014. She had been experiencing persistent headaches and painful, weeping eyes for months but it was only after a visit to Specsavers opticians that the pressure on her optic nerve was detected and she was advised to go to the hospital. She has undergone two craniotomies, one in April 2014 and the other in November 2018, as well as a separate operation to have a shunt fitted. In February 2021 a routine check-up showed further growth and she was referred for six weeks of radiotherapy, the start of which was delayed so she could finally marry her fiancé in a ceremony that was postponed four times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It's been just over a year since 49-year-old dad-of-two, Damon Bowles, received treatment for a low-grade acoustic neuroma brain tumour. It's a non-cancerous growth that presses on the nerves leading from the inner ear to the brain and can affect your hearing and balance. 

Aged 30, Dan Braiden, from Cosham, near Portsmouth, had already survived testicular cancer only to be told he had a highly aggressive and incurable brain tumour. The developer at The Insurance Factory, an insurance firm based in Portsmouth, had suffered from a number of symptoms including tingling sensations, before his diagnosis with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in December 2019. Having had surgery and radiotherapy, Dan is trying to stay positive, with the support of his caring parents and loveable dog Winston.

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.”

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.