Dad with terminal brain cancer to climb Mount Snowdon with four-year-old daughter

A DORSET dad with terminal brain cancer is defying doctors' odds by climbing one of the UK's tallest mountains alongside his young daughter.

Andy Hampton, 54, will be scaling Yr Wyddfa, (Snowdon) on July 6 with his four-year-old daughter, Isabelle, just 14 months after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM).

The mountain is more than 1,000 metres to raise funds and awareness for Brain Tumour Research.

(Image: Brain Tumour Charity)

The experienced hiker and father of four from Sturminster Newton said: “This will be my first time tackling the mountain since my diagnosis.

“It will be harder than ever before, but I’m ready to push myself to the limit to fight this disease.

“I’ve always dreamed of having a full English breakfast at the summit with the sun going up, so I just have to go back.”

Gemma, Andy’s wife, said: “It’s been over a year since Andy was diagnosed, and we’re one of the lucky ones.

“He was initially given a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, but Andy is a fighter and feels more like his old self after coming off chemotherapy.

“The thing with Andy is he probably doesn’t have the energy for this challenge, but he always finds a way."

She added: “We didn’t know anything about brain tumours before the diagnosis. Until it affects you, you just don’t realise how underfunded research is, and how brutal the treatments are.

“I remember watching Andy as he was strapped to his hospital bed and had his brain zapped with radiotherapy, it’s shocking.

“When we first took Andy to hospital, there was not a single leaflet to be found on brain tumours. We are so conditioned to look out for breast cancer, lung cancer, and so on, but are never made aware of the signs of brain cancer.

“We had a brain tumour staring us in the face the whole time and we didn’t pick up on it.”

(Image: Brain Tumour Charity)

Speaking on the challenge, Louise Aubrey, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Andy’s determination and spirit in the face of this devastating disease is an inspiration to us all.

“Research we are funding across our Centres of Excellence will help lead towards improving treatments and finding a cure for GBM.”

To support Andy’s fundraiser by making a donation visit justgiving.com/page/gemma-hampton-1715798453002