Husband and wife from Milton Keynes both diagnosed with brain tumours in cruel coincidence

A cruel twist of fate has meant that a husband and wife have both been diagnosed with brain tumours.

Colin and Anita Jamieson, who live in Emberton with their 12-year-old daughter, are now urging people to sign a charity petition calling for greater investment in research to find a cure for the devastating disease.

Their story began in 2018 when the headaches, sickness and tiredness that Colin, now 59, had been suffering for three years reached breaking point.

“I took him to the doctors so many times I lost count,” said Anita. “ He was sleeping all the time and began complaining of having to make an effort to pick his feet up when he walked.”

In July 2018 Colin’s headaches became so bad that he was violently sick and spent a week in bed. Finally he was sent to hospital for a CT scan.

He was diagnosed with two brain tumours, later identified as likely grade 1 subependymomas or ependymomas – benign tumours that grow into the spinal fluid spaces within the brain.

Anita, who is 45, cared for him while he underwent surgeries and radiotherapy treatment. But a year later, she too began feeling unwell. Her father had also become seriously ill and she put her headaches down to stress at first.

“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... She referred me to a specialist who sent me for an MRI scan, which I had, thinking it wouldn’t find anything.

“Two days later I found out I also have a brain tumour.”

Anita was diagnosed with a meningioma, a non-cancerous and slow-growing primary central nervous system tumor.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

.Colin now suffers from impaired hearing and the tumours have caused his personality to change massively, said Anita.

"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.

His memory has also been badly affected and he has trouble processing information.

But he has never had a clear diagnosis or prognosis, despite his biopsy tissue being sent to Germany for analysis.

"Being left in the dark with no clear answer is tough. It means no-one really knows how to treat him because they don’t know what they’re dealing with,” said Anita.

The couple is campaigning alongside the Milton Keynes-based charity Brain Tumour Research to help its petition reach 100,000 signatures, in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate.

The charity is calling on the government to increase national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year by 2028.

It wants the government to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority, in line with cancers of the breast, bowel and lung.

Anita said: “I feel very strongly about the need for increased investment in research into brain tumours. I find it disgusting that just 1% has been allocated from the national spend on cancer research since records began, despite it being the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.

It’s a horrific cancer, a truly debilitating one that robs people of who they are."

“I want others to understand the indiscriminate nature of this disease. It doesn’t matter who you are, or if you’re related or known to someone with a brain tumour. I used to wonder what the chances were of two people getting together and having brain tumour diagnoses but actually I imagine it’s quite high. That’s why I would encourage everyone to sign and share this petition because, heaven forbid, they too could be affected by this.”

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.

“If everyone can spare just a few minutes to sign and share, we will soon hit the 100,000 signatures we need and help find a cure, bringing hope to families whose loved ones have been affected by brain tumours.”

Visit here to sign and share the petition before it closes at the end of October.