A fit young father has been devastatingly diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour just months after the arrival of his new born daughter. Owain James, 34 who is a plumber and ambitious footballer, initially came down with extreme headaches which were then later discovered by doctors to actually be seizures.
Owain, from Caerphilly in Wales, underwent brain scans at The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran where doctors tragically uncovered a grade four brain tumour in his head called a glioma that required urgent surgery in order for the 34 year old dad to live. Medical staff claim that if the tumour had not been located when it was that Owain would likely have passed away only months later, Wales Online reports.
His anguished wife, Ellie James, 33 said that her seemingly healthy husband had been playing football for his treasured Church Village FC only a week before his crushing diagnosis on September, 4 and earlier in the year he had also competed in a 10km race with some friends. The pair, who have an 18-month-old daughter called Amelia, have now promised each other that they will do "anything and everything" to have as much time together as possible.
Earlier this month Owain underwent surgery at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff to remove half of the tumour and is now on an intensive course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. "Words can't explain how utterly devastated we are by the discovery of Owain's tumour," said Ellie.
"We have gone with everything the NHS has to offer. An incredible team of surgeons at the University Hospital of Wales have removed as much of the tumour as they could without impairing Owain.
"The course of radiotherapy he is having is using the full amount of radiation one person can have in their lifetime and chemo-wise he is on the most suitable NHS-approved drug. We are desperate for more time with Owain and there are additional treatments out there that would give us more time but sadly they are not available on the NHS."
Ellie said that Owain had been experiencing what he thought were panic attacks since last February and after visiting his GP his treatment was "going down the anxiety route". "Obviously by going down that route they didn't think he had any physical problems with his brain.
But it later transpired that he was getting these mini-seizures up to four times a day. He could get them while he was playing football or when he was asleep – there was no link to why he was getting them."
During the August bank holiday Owain's severe headaches came on very suddenly. "He was never the kind of person that would get ill," Ellie added.
"He was bedridden and couldn't move. We went back to the GP after about five days and they advised us that if it was to continue to come back and they'd refer us for a CT scan. They said it normally took about six weeks to get referred but over the weekend his headache just got worse so we decided we couldn't wait that long and went to A&E."
Ellie said the cancerous mass in Owain's brain measured about 14cm long and he was immediately put on a treatment plan by a multi-disciplinary team. "I think he kind of knew in the back of his mind that he didn't have anxiety and that something else was going on.
''In the past few weeks he had felt really tired and I think [the diagnosis] just allowed us to join up the dots of all these symptoms." Just days before his surgery the couple decided to get married at a ceremony in Gileston Manor, Barry, on October 8 surrounded by family and friends.
It took the pair just two weeks to organise the entire event. "We've been together 10 years and we just wanted to create some light in this awful situation," Ellie added.
"It was a magical day and everything went to plan. I feel like we didn't compromise on anything – we had the wedding day that we always wanted regardless of the situation we're in."
Ellie said after speaking to their oncologist and carrying out their own research there is hope of an effective treatment for Owain. She added: "Immunotherapy (DCVax), which is changing the face of cancer care, is a viable option for Owain. But it comes at a very high cost.
"Essentially a biopsy sample is taken and a vaccine is produced for Owain specifically to fit his unique tumour. Then his body takes over and fights the cancer itself. But the cost of manufacturing the vaccine is £200,000 with additional medical expenses on top.
"Optune is also a viable treatment that is available to people in Owain's situation in both Germany and the US but sadly it is not currently available on the NHS. It works in a similar way to radiotherapy but uses electromagnetic waves to target the tumour."
To raise money for Owain's private treatment a crowdfunding page has been set up and has already seen family, friends, and anonymous donors donate more than £21,000 towards the £250,000 target in just over a week. To donate please go here.
Community events are also being held to help raise vital funds for Owain including a 10-mile walk taking in the three castles of Caerphilly, Castell Coch and Cardiff, and a fundraiser at Llantwit Fardre Rugby Club. Any businesses who would like to donate a raffle prize can email fundsforowain@hotmail.com
Ellie added: "We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated so far. Their support has given us hope and strength to keep fighting. But the reality is that we still have a long way to go.
Any donation you can make, no matter how small, will get us one step closer to these additional treatments for Owain. Every day is so precious to us – we just really hope we can have more."
According to Brain Tumour Research brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
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