Fiona Charles, a 61-year-old retired primary school teacher from Aberdeen, began experiencing strange and unexplained symptoms in 2024. At first, her family feared they could be mini-strokes – early warning signs of something more serious. In reality, they were caused by a glioblastoma – an incurable and aggressive brain tumour. Fiona received the diagnosis just before her 61st birthday and has since undergone radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and made significant lifestyle changes as she continues to adapt to life with cancer.
Here is Fiona’s story, as told by her son Jonny…
Mum is the kindest person I know. She left her teaching career to raise me, my younger brother Matthew and my sister Jennifer, and she’s been the core of our family ever since. She was always active – she loved walking, playing golf, and doing dog agility competitions with our family dog, Pippa. She and Pippa have won so many rosettes I’ve lost count.
In early 2024, Mum started having episodes that were hard to explain. Her heart would suddenly race, she’d feel overheated and anxious, and she had to sit down and sip water to feel better. She also began to describe a burning smell in her nose that no one else could smell or explain.
We thought these symptoms might be stress, menopause, or even mini-strokes leading to a major one – we were all so worried.
After a GP letter reassured us “the small area of change at the front of the brain absolutely does not look like a brain tumour”, Mum and Dad weren’t convinced and pushed for further investigation. They arranged a private MRI scan at Albyn Hospital in Aberdeen, which revealed a mass in her brain. A biopsy confirmed it was a glioblastoma – one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumour. She got the diagnosis just before turning 61.
Mum called me, Matthew and Jennifer to come to the house without saying why. I remember the anxiety of waiting to find out what was going on. When we all sat down in the living room, she told us she had cancer. She was calm and composed, but it was obvious how much it cost her to say it.
After that, all I could think about were the things Mum might not get to see – our weddings, future grandchildren, birthdays and family moments we’d always imagined.
Since her diagnosis, she’s completed radiotherapy and is on round five of six chemotherapy sessions. It’s been hard. The treatment has its ups and downs – she has good days and bad days, with the start of each chemo cycle usually being the hardest.
At the beginning, she lost weight and her appetite, and switched to a mostly liquid-based diet, cutting out processed sugar. But over time, things have improved. She’s now eating much more normally, which is helping her regain strength. She’s even back to baking and cooking – things she really enjoys doing. It keeps her happy, and she often makes extras to share with me and my sister when she sees us.
She’s no longer able to do agility competitions with Pippa, so I’ve taken them on instead. We go every Tuesday, and Mum’s even come to watch a couple of times when she’s felt well enough. It’s something small that helps keep her connected to the life she had before.
This year, I’m running the Edinburgh Half Marathon to raise money for Brain Tumour Research and support its new Centre of Excellence in Scotland.
I’d never even heard of glioblastoma until Mum got sick. It was shocking to learn that brain tumours receive just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research – it’s one of the deadliest cancers, and yet it’s completely underfunded.
I’ve never been a runner, so training has been tough – especially while balancing work and everything going on with Mum. But this isn’t about getting a good time. It’s about raising awareness and doing something meaningful. If Mum can go through what she’s going through, I can run a half marathon.
We’re taking each day as it comes. Mum is incredibly brave, and I’m proud to be doing something in her name that might make a difference for others in the future.
Jonny Charles
May 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Fiona’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure.
