1 month ago
A begetter has been heartbreakingly fixed 12 months to unrecorded aft a 'stabbing pain' successful his caput ended up being encephalon cancer.
Mark Downey, 45, was struck pinch an excruciating headache while driving pinch his family to a vacation successful Wales successful September 2023.
The HGV driver, from Bolton, went to A&E aft painkillers were not helping but near aft he faced a 17-hour hold to spot a doctor.
After visiting his GP astatine home, who referred him for an MRI scan, he was yet diagnosed pinch glioblastoma, a type of fast-growing encephalon tumour that tin transportation a life expectancy of conscionable 12 to 18 months from diagnosis.
Feeling 'too strong' to springiness up, Mr Downey and his partner of 23 years, Samantha Scott, 39, are now raising money to money backstage treatment.
Mark Downey, 45, from Bolton, Manchester, pictured pinch his partner Samantha Scott, 39, was struck pinch an excruciating headache while driving pinch his family to a vacation successful Wales successful September 2023
Two days earlier their family vacation to Kinmel Bay successful North Wales, Mr Downey had noticed he had a headache but didn't deliberation overmuch of it.
He knew thing wasn't correct erstwhile he knowledgeable a 'stabbing pain' successful nan correct broadside of his caput while driving his family to Wales.
'The symptom successful my caput was truthful crisp I tried to propulsion my caput nan different measurement because it felt for illustration thing was banging into it,' he said.
'I took painkiller aft painkiller and nan headache conscionable did not go.'
The symptom was truthful excruciating that it made nan father-of-three sick.
Brain tumours tin trigger characteristic changes, particularly if it is located successful nan frontal lobe of nan brain, which regulates characteristic and emotions. It tin besides origin connection problems, seizures and fatigue
Mr Downey was yet diagnosed pinch glioblastoma, a type of fast-growing encephalon tumour that tin transportation a life expectancy of conscionable 12 to 18 months from test and a biopsy revealed his tumour was 2.5cm wide
On nan first time of nan family's trip, he called 111 and was told to spell to A&E.
But erstwhile successful infirmary Mr Downey was told it would beryllium a 17 hr hold to spot a doctor.
Mr Downey and Ms Scott decided to return nan consequence and thrust home, pinch their boy group to commencement secondary schoolhouse that Monday.
The adjacent time connected September 4, he went to spot his GP and he was sent straightaway for a encephalon scan astatine nan Bolton Royal Hospital, which showed he had a bleed connected nan brain.
WHAT IS A GLIOBLASTOMA?
Glioblastomas are nan astir communal cancerous encephalon tumours successful adults.
They are accelerated increasing and apt to spread.
Glioblastomas' origin is chartless but whitethorn beryllium related to a sufferer's genes if mutations consequence successful cells increasing uncontrollably, forming a tumour.
Treatment is usually room to region arsenic overmuch of nan tumour arsenic possible, followed by a operation of radio- and chemotherapy (chemoradiation).
It tin beryllium difficult to region each of nan maturation arsenic glioblastomas person tendrils that widen to different regions of nan brain. These are targeted via chemoradiation.
Glioblastomas are often resistant to curen arsenic they are usually made up of different types of cells. Therefore, medicine will termination disconnected immoderate cells and not others.
The mean endurance clip is betwixt 12 and 18 months.
Source: The Brain Tumour Charity
The pursuing time he had an MRI which revealed he had a encephalon tumour.
Doctors initially didn't realise really terrible it was and thought it was a shape 2 encephalon tumour, Mr Downey claims.
But pursuing an cognition complete a period later connected October 21 astatine Salford Royal Hospital, a biopsy showed nan tumour was already 2.5cm and he was diagnosed pinch a stage-four glioblastoma.
Around 2,500 Brits and 12,000 Americans are diagnosed pinch a glioblastoma each year.
Headaches, seizures, nausea, drowsiness, imagination problems and characteristic changes are cardinal symptoms.
These are caused by nan tumour expanding unit wrong nan skull arsenic it grows.
Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are go-to treatments.
There tin beryllium a life expectancy of conscionable 12 to 18 months from glioblastoma test and successful galore cases it comes back, moreover aft being treated, according to The Brain Tumour Charity.
Mr Downey had 30 rounds of concurrent chemo-radiotherapy alongside oral chemo from October 27 to December 23, but nan tumour grew backmost to 1.4cm.
In effort to shrink it further, successful January he started oral chemotherapy for 1 week a period for a play of six months.
Ms Scott, a income assistant, fears it is 'incurable' and says 'nothing tin beryllium done'.
'Doctors opportunity nan only action is different changeable astatine radiotherapy and chemotherapy done nan NHS ,' she added.
'I don't want to beryllium near to go excessively vulnerable erstwhile location could still beryllium thing that I could do.
'I americium excessively beardown and excessively good to moreover dream of giving up.'
Mr Downey's family group up a GoFundMe page to raise money for replacement treatments, including immunotherapy, which is not disposable connected nan NHS.
Immunotherapy useful by stimulating nan body's earthy immune strategy to destruct cancer cells.
Mr Downey, pictured pinch his partner Ms Scott and 2 sons Lucas Downey, 19 and Taylor Downey 12, opportunity he is 'too beardown and excessively good to moreover dream of giving up'
Brain Tumour Research explains researchers judge a type of immune compartment called T cells are a cardinal constituent for defeating encephalon tumours.
However, this curen is very expensive.
Currently nan family person raised almost £5,000, but they request much than £100,000.
'We person managed to raise immoderate costs but it is obscurity adjacent what we need,' Ms Scott said.
'Doctors told him immunotherapy whitethorn not beryllium beneficial for Mark and it costs hundred's of thousands,' she added.
There are nary immunotherapy treatments approved for treating encephalon tumours wrong nan NHS, that's because location is nary method that has been proven to person a lasting occurrence pinch capable patients, according to Brain Tumour Research.
