A father-of-two from Co Derry who lost his wife to a brain tumour has said learning from a consultant she had only days to live will "haunt me forever".
Alan Robinson, from the rural Cullion area of Derry, ran the TCS London Marathon in memory of his late wife Nicola.
A mother-of-two and a teacher at Fountain Primary School, she was diagnosed in 2018 with a diffuse astrocytoma brain tumour after suffering for a couple of weeks with headaches and dizzy spells.
Read more: Belfast marathon runner with multiple sclerosis backing awareness campaign
She underwent two seven-hour craniotomies at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but nothing could stop the tumour growing and Nicola passed away, aged 35, in October 2021.
Alan, dad to eight-year-old Amelia and Alfie, five, said: “Nicola was the perfect mummy to her children and would literally have done anything for anyone. She was also a really devoted teacher and loved the children she taught as if they were her own.
“I remember when the consultant told me that Nicola only had days to live. It was a conversation which will haunt me forever.
“Brain tumours are a shocking killer and the stats are so grim. Less than 12% of patients survive beyond five years which compares with an average of 50% across all cancers. We have to do something to change this so that other families aren’t devastated like ours.”
Nicola’s passion for raising awareness and funds for research to find a cure for brain tumours, led Alan to set up a Fundraising Group last year under the umbrella of the charity Brain Tumour Research, which he called Stronger Together for Nicola.
As part of Stronger Together for Nicola’s first year of fundraising, Alan and a team of friends and family ran five half-marathons, starting with the Omagh Half, as well as the full-distance Belfast Marathon.
Along with a gala ball in October 2022 attended by around 270 guests, more than £62,000 has been raised to help find a cure.
Alan joined a team of more than 70 people running 26.2 miles for Brain Tumour Research on Sunday 23 April 2023.
Afterwards, he said: “It was emotional, good fun, sore and amazing! What an atmosphere, although it was also scary at some points.
“I hit the wall at 18 miles and the last three miles were really sore, but I still might do another marathon. Nicola would be laughing. It’s really important to me to keep her memory alive. I don’t want anyone to forget her."
He added: “The whole thing was bittersweet, but it was a great experience for the kids. It’s lovely for them to see good coming out of bad.”
His London Marathon fundraising has reached £8,699 to date.
Readers who wish to donate can do so by clicking here
A spokesperson for Brain Tumour Research said: "Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs."
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