A woman from Mansfield has spoken out about her dad’s terminal brain tumour and how his symptoms came on “like a flipped switch”. Amy Bradley’s dad, Michael Bradley, 63, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in October last year.
Michael, who is known as Mick, had a ‘devastating’ diagnosis and was told he only had 12 to 18 months left to live. In 2016, Mick’s brother, David Bradley, from Shirebrook, sadly died from the same type of tumour when he was 64-years-old.
Amy, 28, spoke out about her dad’s awful diagnosis, she said: “To be told Dad only had 12 to 18 months to live with treatment was devastating. I felt sick and thought ‘what has my dad done to deserve this?’
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“GBMs are one of the most devastating forms of cancer, so why is so little known about them? We’re on a mission to fund research so better treatments and a cure can be found.”
Last September, Mick became unwell while answering the door to one of his friends.
Megan Bradley, Mick’s other daughter, told Nottinghamshire Live what it was like when he fell ill. The 26-year-old said: “Dad suddenly had a chronic headache and he was violently vomiting. It was so sudden, like someone just flipped a switch.
“He’d never had anything like that before. Dad was taken to accident and emergency at Chesterfield Royal Hospital where an MRI scan revealed he had tumours on the right-side of his brain.”
On October 7, two days before his birthday, Mick was transferred to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and had a biopsy. He then underwent a six-week course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Weston Park Cancer Centre in Sheffield.
In the beginning of January this year, he was then admitted to Chesterfield Royal Hospital with a pulmonary embolism after experiencing severe pain in his right-hand side. He is no longer having chemotherapy but is trying an alternative therapy.
Both Amy and Megan are planning to raise £10,000 for the charity Brain Tumour Research. On Friday 31 March, they will be taking part in Wear A Hat Day.
As well as this Megan recently completed the 10,000 Steps A Day in February challenge, and she and Amy will take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge on 3 June.
The sisters both work at Cygnet Health Care which is holding a family fundraising day as part of Wear A Hat Day at Shirebrook cricket club where Amy’s manager, Samantha Armstrong, will sit in a bath of baked beans for three hours to raise funds.
Amy said: “We are so grateful to the small businesses and everyone in our local community who have pulled together to support us. Without them, we would not have the fight in us that we do today.
“We wanted to channel our emotions and turn them into something meaningful because raising money and awareness is so important. My dad had no warning, just boom! and he suddenly had cancer. Something has got to change and the Government needs to do more to combat this devastating disease.”
Wear A Hat Day is set for the last Friday in March. The day encourages people to wear hats of all shapes and sizes. More than £2 million has been raised over the years as a part of the charity’s fundraiser, which has helped fund research into brain tumours.
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Researc, said: “We’re really grateful to Amy for taking part in Wear A Hat Day as it’s only with the support of people like her that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Mick who are forced to fight this awful disease.
“People can get involved in Wear A Hat Day in so many fun and easy ways, the list really is endless. Wear a hat and hold a walk, a party, a quiz night or a bake sale. Or get your thinking cap on and come up with something totally unique.”
As well as this March is Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Brain Tumour Research announced a £2.5m funding agreement to help find a cure for the deadliest of all childhood cancers.
The grant is being awarded to The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), in Sutton, Surrey, where a team of scientists led by Professor Chris Jones will form the charity’s fourth Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence.
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