Dave Fiebig was 41 years old, fit and healthy, when a trip to an emergency room led to a devastating diagnosis.
After experiencing a range of symptoms including memory loss, daily headaches and vomiting, the father of two was diagnosed with stage four gioblastoma, an incredibly aggressive brain tumour.
Dave began an intense treatment regime, including a craniotomy, where part of the skull is removed, and concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Initial responses to treatment were positive and the tumour shrank.
But five months later, he was told the tumour had grown again and after fighting the disease for seven months, the father-of-two died.
"Dave was the most positive, upbeat and happy person and had a smile that no-one could forget," Dave's wife Chloe Drogemuller-Fiebig said.
"He was an incredible husband and definitely a doting father to our two boys. I don't think he realised the impact he had on the people he had met, or even just knew of him.
"You never think it will happen to you, even with his symptoms, you never think it could be something like that."
Chloe and the couple's children Duke and Banks, aren't letting Dave's memory fade and want to put as much effort into raising awareness of brain cancer as their husband and father put into fighting the disease.
With the help of Dave's friends, Chloe started the Brave for Dave Foundation (BDF) which aims to raise funds and awareness of brain cancer in the community.
"He was such a positive and courageous person and he was doing it not just for himself and for us as a family, but for everyone else," she said.
"I know he would be very proud, proud of the boys as well who are so resilient.
"He'd just be honoured because he was such a humble person and he'd be blown away by the generosity of the community."
Low survival rates for 'invisible cancer'
Money raised through BDF will go to the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF) and the Neurological Research Foundation to fund research into the disease.
CBCF director of philanthropy Sani Dowa said the efforts of community-led initiatives like BDF are boosting the profile of the disease and its severity.
"People like Chloe and others are people who have been very personally affected and they've experienced that personal pain of having someone close to them, or have themselves, been diagnosed with a deadly cancer," she said.
About 1,900 people are diagnosed with brain cancer in Australia each year and 1,500 die from the disease.
According to the Cancer Council, just 22 per cent of people with brain cancer have a five-year survival rate, compared to about 70 per cent o people with all other cancers in Australia.
"We often refer to brain cancer as the forgotten cancer or the invisible cancer," Ms Dowa said.
"For lots of people, the first time they actually come across brain cancer is when they're personally affected. It's not a cancer people speak about often.
"Looking back at the past 30 years, there haven't been a lot of improvements in treatments for brain cancer, so there's a real sense of urgency."
Walking to raise awareness
In just under a year, Chloe and her family's lives have been altered permanently.
But Chloe wants to use her experience in coming to terms with Dave's diagnosis, grieving his death and keeping his memory alive to inspire others.
On the weekend, she opened up to hundreds of other brain cancer survivors and advocates in a talk at the Adelaide Walk4BrainCancer event.
Chloe started up a local version of the Walk4BrainCancer in her home town of Barmera and has her sights set on creating a network of brain cancer nurses to support other people fighting the disease and their families.
"When things weren't looking good I just kept promising Dave that we would keep fighting the battle he fought," she said.
"He never lost his battle, he never gave up, he kept fighting and I think that's testament to the kind of person he is.
"Being diagnosed with cancer is one thing, but this type of cancer and disease takes away your ability to talk, feed yourself and cognitive function."
