A woman who lost her mum to an aggressive brain tumour is set to suffer further heartbreak after her father was diagnosed with the same illness. Julie Green's mum, Diane, was found to have a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in 2005, and now her dad John is also battling a similar condition.
Mum Diane's symptoms started when she began suffering from severe migraines, eventually slipping into a coma and dying at Warrington Hospital in January 2006. Having lost his beloved wife to the disease, John Green was diagnosed with two brain tumours in July 2021, while fighting stage four lung cancer, reports CheshireLive.
Julie, of Runcorn, says she was 'shocked' when she found out about her mum's diagnosis. The 47-year-old said: "Mum had been back and forth to the doctor with headaches for about a year, but hadn’t got any closer to finding out the cause. Then, one day in March 2005, we had to call an ambulance because she was going in and out of consciousness.
"Paramedics took her to hospital, where they did a CT scan and found a brain tumour. It was such a shock. She was such a lively, bubbly person. The tumour was deep inside her brain, limiting her treatment options."
Diane, who worked as a cleaner in Runcorn, was transferred to The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool. Surgeons operated but were unable to remove all of the tumour, due to its location on the brain.
Julie said: “From the day we found out about Mum’s tumour to the day she passed away, she wasn’t the same again. She went downhill quickly, losing her sight and becoming paralysed down one side. In the end, she was bed bound and we relied heavily on help from the Macmillan nurses. My dad coped as best as he could but it wasn’t easy for him."
John’s shock diagnosis arrived after he had a fall at home, resulting in a trip to hospital, where scans detected the stage four cancer. Julie said: "Dad was as fit as a fiddle before his diagnosis, so it was really difficult to comprehend.
"Unlike Mum, he’d had no symptoms whatsoever. He’s having chemotherapy, which makes him really poorly, but he’s persevering for now.
"They can’t operate on the brain tumours, as they’re at the top of the spine. He’s now receiving palliative care but he remains very proud and independent, preferring not to have carers in to help him.”
Julie uses a wheelchair, due to having the painful bone infection osteomyelitis, which resulted in her having her leg amputated in May 2020. In spite of her disability, she has been fundraising for Brain Tumour Research as part of the charity’s Wear A Hat Day.
Now in its 13th year, Wear A Hat Day has raised more than £2 million for Brain Tumour Research to help fund the fight against the disease. It is one of the UK’s biggest and best-loved brain tumour research awareness and fundraising days.
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Less than 12 per cent of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50 per cent across all cancers and those who do can be left with a wide-range of disabilities.
"We are so sorry to hear that Julie’s family has been impacted twice by this terrible disease. We will continue to fund vital research to improve treatment options for brain tumour patients and, ultimately, find a cure. We’re very grateful for Julie’s support and wish her the best of luck for her ongoing fundraising."
To donate to Julie’s fundraiser for Brain Tumour Research, please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Julie-Green55
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