Heartache as husband and wife both diagnosed with brain tumours just months part
A husband and wife have both been diagnosed with brain tumours - just 14 months apart.
Colin, 59, and Anita Jamieson, 45, who are both still living with their tumours, have now shared the story behind their heartbreaking bond to call for more research into the disease. Colin was first to be diagnosed with two tumours in July 2018 after suffering with with headaches, sickness and tiredness for at least three years.
But his symptoms were previously attributed to migraines and working long hours in the transport industry. Just 14 months later, Anita was also diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019. After undergoing treatments, the couple are now both continuing to have regular monitoring scans.
The couple, from Emberton, Buckinghamshire, are now calling for more funding for the charity Brain Tumour Research. Anita said: "At first I was shocked, really scared for our daughter and extremely angry. It seemed so unfair that Colin and I would both be affected by this disease, but I've now learned to accept it.
"I'm relieved Colin is still here and, although some days are tough, I try to remain grateful for what we have now. We could have been in a very different position and my heart breaks for all those who are, which is why I'm urging people to sign the petition."
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Colin was initially admitted to hospital and treated for severe hydrocephalus. He now suffers from impaired hearing and is being monitored with regular scans having undergone two shunt surgeries, two debulking surgeries and radiotherapy.
Anita said: "Colin's memory is horrific, and he has trouble processing things as a result of his brain tumours. He used to run his own transport company, which we were forced to shut, and had a couple of related jobs but, after recovering from surgery, it became apparent he was unable to process information.
"That coupled with the fact he no longer has a HGV driving licence makes working too hard. His personality has also massively changed as a result of everything he's been through He was always pretty easy-going but he now gets angry. Our daughter, Hollie, and I have found it tricky at times because Colin gets cross if something doesn't go his way.
"She's only 12 and the two of them can bicker like children, leaving me having to tell them both off. Colin's still loving and kind, but very different to the man I knew before." She added: "I took him to the doctors so many times I lost count. He was sleeping all the time and began complaining of having to make an effort to pick his feet up when he walked.
"Things reached a breaking point in July 2018 when his headaches became so bad he was violently sick and spent a week in bed. Finally, we were sent to the hospital where a doctor did push and pull tests and, noticing he had weakness on one side, sent him straight for a CT scan."
Despite his biopsy tissue being sent to Germany for analysis, the couple have never received a definitive diagnosis for Colin's tumours. They were told earlier this year that Colin's scans showed signs of growth and that they were "out of options".
However, they have since been told his tumours could have stabilised and possibly even shrunk. Anita's father was seriously ill at the height of Colin's illness in September 2019, when she too was diagnosed with a meningioma.
She said: "I get stress and hormone-induced migraines and have suffered with them since I was about 13. They make me violently sick and I was even hospitalised with them at one point. When my dad and Colin were both very ill at the same time I was torn between where to be and by then I had taken on the accounts for my parents' farm, which was really stressful.
"I went to the doctor to ask if there was anything else she could give me for them or anything else I could do. She referred me to a specialist who sent me for an MRI scan, which I had thinking it wouldn't find anything, and two days later I found out I also have a brain tumour."
Anita and Colin are campaigning alongside the charity Brain Tumour Research to help its petition to increase research funding reach 100,000 signatures, in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate.
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Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "Colin and Anita's stories are a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of this disease, which can affect anyone at any time.
"We're really grateful to them for supporting our petition and for helping us to raise awareness. For too long governments have put brain tumours on the 'too difficult to think about' pile."
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