27 November 2023 , 15:42
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ITV presenter, Dan Salisbury-Jones, has shared the heartbreaking news his wife Liz is battling a rare and incurable brain tumour.
The devastating diagnosis came shortly after the couple welcomed their first child. Dan described receiving the terrible news in a busy hospital corridor as feeling like a 'death sentence'. The young family's life had been going wonderfully, having just bought a house and welcomed their little boy, Reuben.
However, their lives were turned upside down when Liz experienced a 'petrifying' seizure after a trip to see family. "Life was very good back in 2022. Liz had given birth to our first baby, I'd got this exciting new job in the Midlands and we had found a house that was to become our family home," Dan explained.
He added: "In fact, I had an odd sense that all was going too well, and it turned out that feeling was correct." Dan is a familiar face on Midlands news, working as ITV Central's sports correspondent covering everything from local football clubs to interviewing cricket legend Stuart Broad.
Every day, he searches the term Oligodendroglioma – the type of tumour his wife was diagnosed with – on Google, hoping for news about a cure. Liz first fell ill last December when she had a seizure while they were packing to return home from visiting her parents in Teesside, with their son Reuben.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
A popular ITV presenter has revealed his wife's devastating brain tumour diagnosis (No credit)Dan added: "My wife was just looking through me like there was nothing there. I really wish I knew that was normal because at the time I thought the worst. Eventually, she started recognising people and rediscovering her memory as we made our way to the hospital."
"She had a CT scan, which revealed a mass on the brain. We were told it was either an infection or a tumour. We convinced ourselves it was an infection and that antibiotics would resolve the issue. She was admitted and put on a drip for several days spending Christmas on a general/diabetic ward at a hospital with no neurological department."
Getting information in the hospital over Christmas was tough for Dan, but eventually, a busy registrar told him Liz had a brain tumour. It felt like "a death sentence" he said. The family's support network also swung into action, Liz's parents dropped everything, her brother and his partner delayed emigrating to Australia. Dan's family even took days off to enable him to go to work though his employers were also brilliantly supportive.
Liz was diagnosed with a low-grade Oligodendroglioma, a rare and incurable tumour. However, it's slow-growing, which means she should be able to watch her son Reuben grow up. But, because of the risk of seizures, Liz can't look after her son by herself anymore.
Dan found hope for his family through The Brain Tumour Charity. He said: "This gave us basic knowledge so the information coming from the neurologist wasn't as overwhelming as it could've been because we knew that this type of tumour usually responds to radiotherapy and chemotherapy."
"Liz was 30 at the time and because of her age and relatively good prognosis, her oncologist also requested she get state-of-the-art proton beam therapy at The Christie in Manchester. This was six weeks of daily treatment Monday to Friday. The Christie offered free accommodation in the city centre, but we were able to stay with family. The kindness we've found on this journey has been incredible. "
"Liz's treatment, along with anti-epilepsy drugs, started in May and meant she lost some of her hair – although Liz's skills with a scarf mean that few people know this! Thankfully, it was successful and caused significant shrinkage in the tumour. Then it was time for PCV Chemotherapy. We are now midway through the second cycle and Liz is handling it like a trooper. There are some strict dietary requirements, which are quite confusing to start with but not that bad once you get your head around it."
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