In February 2023, Inta Ozanne, 51, from Scunthorpe, woke up feeling dizzy and unwell. She went to hospital and had an MRI scan which revealed a brain tumour. Surgeons removed the tumour which was a glioblastoma (GBM). Inta, mum to Rebecca, 12, is currently on her second round of chemotherapy but she has been told no more treatment options are available to her on the NHS. She and husband Gary are now crowdfunding to pay for private or alternative treatment. 

Gary tells her story…

In February 2023, Inta woke up feeling unwell. She felt dizzy, had blurred vision, and she couldn’t walk in a straight line. She had also felt dizzy the previous day but otherwise she was in good health.

She had lung cancer six years ago, but surgeons removed one of her lungs and she has been fine since. She has checkup scans every six months and they are all clear.

I took Inta to A&E at Scunthorpe General Hospital. They kept her there for four days and did an MRI scan which revealed a brain tumour.

“I just felt scared and was so worried about what would happen to her.”

On 1 March, Inta had an operation to remove the tumour at Hull Royal Infirmary. Afterwards, we were told the tumour was a glioblastoma (GBM). They said it wasn’t curable, but it may be manageable.

Inta was a carer at Lindsey Lodge Hospice, but she had to stop working. She was due to begin radiotherapy and chemotherapy on 23 May, but she suffered a seizure on 9 May while at an appointment at the Queen's Centre for Oncology and Haematology at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull. 

“She had never had a seizure before, it was extremely concerning. I got there as fast as I could. When I saw her, she looked terrible, it was heartbreaking.”

Inta was immediately put on anti-seizure medication and steroids. They did an MRI scan, and it showed the tumour had grown again.

“We were just devastated; we’d hoped everything would be OK but part of the original tumour at the back of Inta’s head had grown, and a new 4cm tumour had grown at the front of her head. We were told she only had months to live, and radiotherapy would not be beneficial for her.”

Inta started her first course of chemotherapy on 23 May. She has just started a second course of the treatment. So far, she hasn’t had any bad side effects so that’s good.

At present, the chemotherapy is all we have because we were told there are no other treatment options available for her on the NHS. 

“I can’t believe there are no other options on the NHS; our only hope is to try private care, but we are not rich and don't have savings. We don't like having to ask for help, but we are desperate and don't know what else to do.”

We are now crowdfunding to pay for private or alternative treatment. Inta is a very strong woman, and she is fighting this the best she can; she is also being as cheerful as possible, but the situation is so frustrating.

We are also campaigning alongside Brain Tumour Research to help reach 100,000 signatures on its petition to increase research funding, in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate. It calls on the Government to ring-fence £110 million of current and new funding to kick-start an increase in the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year by 2028.

“I’ve signed the petition and encourage others to because money is so important; without it, there is no research. The Government needs to invest much more into brain tumours because so much is still unknown about them.”

If there are other treatments, they should be on the NHS. Something must be done to improve the situation.

Gary Ozanne
June 2023

Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer... yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.

If you have been inspired by Inta's story you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy

Together we will find a cure