The family of Gill Hoare said she was "never one for getting ill or making a fuss". However when she started suffering with bouts of vomiting she was convinced to go to her GP.
After being given medication for a possible ear problem she appeared to make a good recovery but it was short-lived and within weeks she began to confuse details about her grandchildren. Recalling the events of November 2020 her daughter Beth Phillips, a primary school teacher from Cardiff, said: "Mum would ask how my son, Griff, was getting on at school but he was only 18 months at the time.
"It was my eldest, Teddy, who was actually in school. She was given medication for a urine infection which seemed to work and Mum seemed like her usual self. We originally thought she could have Alzheimer's."
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In March 2020 while at home with husband Ken, 79, Gill collapsed and was rushed to Kingston Hospital in London where a CT scan revealed the shocking news of a mass on her brain. She was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumour called a glioblastoma (GBM) at the age of 71.
Five months of gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy couldn't contend with the aggressive and fast-growing pace of the tumour and Gill was placed on palliative care until she died in Galsworthy House nursing home in Kingston-upon-Thames on March 1, 2021 – almost a year after she was diagnosed.
Beth added: "I saw my mum for the last time in-person around mid-December due to different lockdown restrictions with me being based in Wales and my parents being based in London. We had always wondered what would come first – the end of lockdown of Mum dying. It always felt like it was a race.
"We spoke on video calls and as the months went on Mum's appearance became aged and vulnerable. Dad only ever got to see her through a window and for the last few months of her life we couldn't see or hug her.
"You always think of the 'what-ifs', especially as a family, wondering if we should have pushed for a second opinion. Even treatment options are limited which is crazy to think how a disease such as brain tumours is so underfunded."
Throughout August Beth will be taking on a 2.5k swim at David Lloyd Cardiff to help raise awareness and fund research into brain tumours. She will be helped by her children Teddy, six, and Griff, four.
"I was keen to do something to help the cause and when I saw this challenge I thought it would be a great challenge that could include the children who were so fond of their Grandma who they now refer to as 'a star in the sky'," she said.
According to Brain Tumour Research GBM is the most commonly diagnosed high-grade brain tumour in adults. It is fast-growing and the average survival time is just 12 to 18 months. Treatment options are extremely limited and there is no cure. One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour.
Mel Tiley, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "We’re sorry to hear about Gill and are grateful to Beth and the family for sharing her story. It’s lovely to read that Beth and her children will take part in the challenge together. We wish Beth the best of luck in her swimming challenge and are thankful to have her alongside us as a campaigner to fund the fight against brain tumours." To find out how you can join Brain Tumour Research’s Swim Challenge this August please visit www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/swim.
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