Dad who had trouble remembering words was given 12 months to live

A dad who lost the ability to hold a conversation has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Graeme McAllen, 42, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in August 2023 after he experienced word-finding difficulties during a conversation at work.

He was placed on palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy and told surgery was too high risk and given 12 to 18 months to live. After seeking a second opinion in January 2024, Graeme underwent an awake craniotomy during which around 90% of his tumour was debulked.

Now his family are doing everything they can to pro-long his life and his mother-in-law Jane Paton, 61, is taking on a month-long fundraising challenge. Jane, who works as a teacher for adults with learning difficulties, from Horley, Surrey said: "My daughter has been a force in seeking options to help her husband see their children grow up.

"Graeme wears a device on his head called Optune which uses alternating electrical fields to cause cell death and stop the tumour growing so quickly. He has to shave his head completely because otherwise he will suffer with burns due to the electrical pads being directly on the skin which he has to wear it 20 hours a day for it to do anything - a huge commitment.

“He’s had two rounds of immunotherapy in Cologne, Germany, which is a personalised vaccine administered monthly. The treatment will cost in excess of £100,000. We know the cancer is aggressive and that, when it grows back, it will do so at speed.

"We want to try everything we can to prolong his life in the hope that he will live long enough to see his boys grow up.”

Graeme's wife Tamara, 33, wants to do everything she can to prolong her husbands life for their three sons - aged 14, four and 18 months - and has set up a crowdfunding. The Chelsea FC fan received a video call from football legends such as John Terry, Thibaut Courtois and Cesar Azpilicueta and also England Rugby Union legend, Jason Robinson.

Tamara's mum Jane is more than halfway through her 200k in May challenge which requires participants to walk, jog, run, cycle, swim, to complete a 200km distance over the course of the month. Jane said: "I have challenged myself in support of my son in law in his fight against his GBM.

"Alongside doing household chores and daily walks, I have found that weekly fitness classes has been a great way to increase my mileage. When I saw this challenge, I thought it was something I would enjoy doing, something I could focus on to help with my own wellbeing whilst also supporting the brain tumour community which my family is now part of.”

She added: “I had no idea about the disease before it affected my family. You don’t really unless you’re living it. I was shocked to find out that just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

"We must take action now if we are to stop families from being ripped apart by this horrendous disease.”

Charlie Allesbrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Sadly, Graeme’s story is not unique. In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour."

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.

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Jane’s challenge, visit: www.facebook.com/donate/799879645001538/10233648451018795/