I lost my husband to a brain tumour - now I'm turning tragedy to hope

Somerset woman has been raising funds for brain tumour research following the death of husband from the disease. Sarah Martin from Wincanton has supported the charity Brain Tumour Research since her husband Adam died from a glioblastoma (GBM) in January 2022, aged 35.

With Adam's death, their children Albie and Charlie, who were then five and 10 respectively, lost their dad. Now Srah has dedicated two days of research in his memory after raising thousands of pounds to help to find a cure.

On Wednesday (November 13), Sarah and her friend Sian White were invited to the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London to find out how their fundraising is helping support scientists leading the way in research into GBM. It is the most common high-grade brain tumour among adults with an average survival prognosis of 12 to 18 months.

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Landscape gardener Adam was fit and healthy until in October 2020, he suffered an excruciating headache so bad he remained in bed for five or six days.

Sarah said: “It was about 10 years since Adam had last gone to the GP, so I knew he was really unwell. The GP diagnosed a neck injury and referred Adam to a physiotherapist, who was adamant there was nothing wrong with his neck.

"This time the GP prescribed loads of medicines which the pharmacist commented on because it didn’t seem right. At home, I was downstairs when I heard a crash from the bedroom and found Adam had fallen out of bed. I now think he’d suffered a seizure as he went on to have more seizures after his diagnosis.”

Adam went by ambulance to Yeovil Hospital where he underwent tests including a CT scan which revealed a mass in his brain. Adam was transferred into the care of Southmead Hospital in Bristol where he had an extensive MRI scan and underwent surgery to remove as much of the GBM tumour as possible.

Sarah added: “I look back now and realise how naïve I was. I thought that Adam would have surgery and chemo and then would be fine, but instead we were told that his tumour was very aggressive and incurable.

"Even worse, we were told it was the unmethylated type, so wouldn’t respond to chemotherapy. Adam had radiotherapy for six weeks and went on a clinical trial but, heartbreakingly, a scan at the end showed that the unmethylated GBM had grown back already, which doesn’t respond to intravenous chemotherapy.

"He was offered chemotherapy in tablet form , but was advised that it was likely not to have much effect. Adam chose to go ahead as he would do anything to prolong his life. He managed four rounds before having to stop.

“Adam was 34 when he began end-of-life care under a nurse from our local hospice. He survived just 14 months after diagnosis. You always think that doctors can prolong life, even when the cancer is terminal, but for brain tumours this is often not the case.

“It was emotional seeing Adam’s tiles on the Wall of Hope. I still can’t believe that his cancer was incurable – so much funding seems to go into researching other forms of cancer, while, shockingly, brain tumours lag so far behind.

“It’s some comfort to think that all the donations made in Adam’s memory are helping to make a difference for people diagnosed with brain tumours in the future – tragically they devastate too many families.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, more women under 35 than breast cancer and more men under 70 than prostate cancer. Sarah asked for funeral donations to go to Brain Tumour Research and Wincanton Community Hospital where Adam died.

Last year in July, she organised a charity ball at Haynes Motor Museum, with huge help from Jodie, to celebrate what would have been Adam’s 37th birthday, raising more than £10,000 which was again split between Brain Tumour Research and Wincanton Community Hospital.

Next year she is planning another charity ball to mark Adam’s birthday, this time to be held at Sherborne School for Girl. Sarah and Sian were given the opportunity to tour the labs at Queen Mary University of London, led by principal investigator Professor Silvia Marino and spoke to scientists about their work to find a cure.

Sarah added: “Sadly, it’s too late for Adam, but I hope the money we’ve donated is life-changing and brings the day closer when a cure is found and families don’t have to go through what we have.”

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really grateful to Adam’s family for their support and generosity. We hope that their visit to our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London offered a useful insight into all we’re doing to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.

“Just under 13% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 54% across all cancers, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002. This has to change.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and 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.

To find out more about sponsoring a day of research, go to www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/sponsor-a-day.