24/10/2026
It’s the start of and as many of you will know, brain tumours have affected my family, not once, but twice. As with many things, we all think that it won’t happen to us/our family, until it does. My Mum Mary, died from a Glioblastoma brain tumour in 2021. She had no symptoms until she suddenly began having seizures - until then she had been healthy and active.
My brother Paul, died, also from a Glioblastoma in 2023, he experienced numbness in his left hand side (he was left handed) and then had excruciating headaches. Both of them went on to experience a range of other symptoms, but these were there initial ones. Different types of brain tumours will cause a range of symptoms, so please check out any of the brain tumour charities for more details and please go and see your GP if you are worried about anything.
So much more needs to be done to support brain tumour sufferers and to find more treatment options, for people like my Mum and brother.
I wrote my book ‘About Hedgehog’ as a legacy to them, to help other people feel less alone in grief, to support children and families going through similar experiences and to normalise conversations about death. As an author it was something tangible I could do to help others dealing with grief. Together as a community, we can all help to support those dealing with difficult diagnoses and to find support when things might feel hopeless.
For support please head to:
Brain Cancer Justice
brainstrust
Brain Tumour Support
Brain Tumour Research
The Brain Tumour Charity
Tessa Jowell Foundation
