Jess Battison
A man’s symptoms were allegedly dismissed by a doctor as he was accused of ‘faking it’ before he ended up being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Stephen Blakeston began experiencing jumbled speech, severe headaches and distress in October 2010, all of which were described as being totally out of character for him.
His daughter, Hollie Rhodes, explained: “I couldn’t believe it when we visited the GP, who dismissed his symptoms as stress-related and even said he was faking, something I know my dad wouldn’t do.”
However, a CT scan proved he wasn’t faking it and proved it to be much more serious, with it eventually leading to his sudden death at the age of 53 on 13 July 2011.
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It was found that Blakeston had a tumour growing on the left side of his brain which was affecting his speech.
"He had surgery the next week, which was successful, but the biopsy confirmed our worst fear – it was incurable and cancerous,” Rhodes added.
The dad and grandfather underwent one round of intensive radiotherapy and two rounds of chemotherapy to halt the tumour's growth.
And despite experiencing fatigue, his family say his mood stayed positive and following scans showed no signs of further tumour regrowth.
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However, Blakeston collapsed and died at home, after a blood clot travelled to his heart - related to his treatment or the tumour.
“Dad walked to my sister’s room and barely got through the door when he collapsed.” Rhodes recalled.
“We called an ambulance but unfortunately paramedics couldn’t save him, and they told us after about 20 minutes of fighting that he didn’t make it, and he died on her bedroom floor.”
The 37-year-old described it as ‘traumatic and unexpected’ as she said while it was horrible to lose him so suddenly, the family find ‘some comfort in knowing it was quick and likely the way he would have wanted to go’.
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Around 12,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour each year in the UK.
And Rhodes is now training to run the London Marathon in memory of her father and to raise awareness for Brain Tumour Research.
"The current level of funding for research is just not enough,” the PE teacher said.
"It’s the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, so it should absolutely be a priority to stop these deaths. It almost feels like people view brain tumours as a final prognosis. That whole narrative needs to change because more funding in research would bring hope to those impacted.”
She added of her dad: “Remembering his struggles and how a cure could have kept him with us gives me the strength to keep going. Four or five hours of running is nothing compared to what dad and so many others endure. I’ll remind myself to push through and do this for them.”