A dad has revealed how he was prescribed nasal spray for a blocked nose that turned out to be an incurable brain tumour.
Accountant Kevin Pemberton, 41, finally went for an MRNI scan after several visits to his GP failed to get rid of the persistent problem. And he was horrified when the scan revealed an 'abnormal lesion' on the brain.
Two weeks later, he was told he had a brain tumour and he had an operation to remove the mass. But it was found to be an incurable grade three anaplastic astrocytoma - a malignant tumour that can spread to other parts of the brain.
Kevin went on to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy and debulking surgery - an operation to remove as much of the tumour as possible. He now has scans every six months to check if the mass has grown back.
Meanwhile, he has raised almost £10,000 for Brain Tumour Research alongside wife Michelle, 41, and their daughters Jasmine, 14, and Sofia, nine.
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Kevin, from Wolverhampton, said: "The doctor gave me nasal spray to treat my blocked sinuses, and medication, but nothing helped. When my symptoms didn’t improve, I had a private MRI scan through my work in April 2019 and was shocked to be told I had a tumour on my brain."
Kevin had a five-hour brain operation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. And that revealed the tumour was incurable.
He said: "I was flabbergasted and couldn’t process the fact that there was no cure for my illness. My world fell apart and when I returned home I had a panic attack. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me.
“To hear the word cancer was a shock once again. I received a letter detailing my treatment and read the word incurable and from then I struggled to sleep and eat.”
Kevin started a six-week course of radiotherapy in May 2019, followed up by 12 cycles of chemotherapy in June 2020. He went back to work in July 2020, which provided normality and distraction.
Now the family have channelled all their strength into fundraising. Kevin said: “Working helped take my mind off my diagnosis and kept me active.
"I wanted to be as proactive as I could which led all four of us to fundraise for Brain Tumour Research. We were very open as a family, speaking about the cancer, and taking on different activities as a family brought us closer and helped us deal with the disease."
The family's fundraising activities have included a charity night at Molineux Stadium, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and cycling 274 miles in one month. They hope to complete 10,000 steps a day in February to raise even more.
Mel Tiley, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re grateful to Kevin for sharing his story. In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour.
"We want to change this but it’s only by working together that we will be able to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure. We admire the family’s determination to do everything they can to help others fighting this disease in the future."
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