Verity Phillips, 35, from Immingham in Lincolnshire, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2022 after collapsing at work with severe headaches, sickness and fatigue. After being told she may have only 12 to 18 months to live, she underwent two brain surgeries followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Now, more than two years later, Verity has outlived her prognosis and is fundraising for the Nottingham Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence alongside her husband, Danny, and their four children.
Verity tells her story…
Before my diagnosis, I was working in a pharmacy. I’d been managing my fibromyalgia for a while, and although I got tired sometimes, I was active, involved with my children and happy in my routine.
But in early 2022, I started to feel unwell in a way that felt different. I had intense headaches, constant sickness and an overwhelming tiredness that I couldn’t explain. I struggled to stand properly and needed to sit down often. I thought it might be a reaction to new medication I’d started for my fibromyalgia.
My symptoms quickly worsened. On 9 February, my daughter Edith’s birthday, my sister-in-law Sarah, who was also my manager, came to see me after colleagues expressed concern. She insisted I go to hospital. I didn’t really understand what was happening – I just felt confused and scared.
I was taken to Grimsby Hospital and then blue-lighted to Scunthorpe General Hospital. I remember being in my pyjamas with nothing with me and suddenly surrounded by medical staff asking questions I could barely process.
When the doctors showed us the MRI scan results and said there was a mass on my brain, we were devastated.
I was transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary for a craniotomy so they could drain excess fluid and take a biopsy. A few days later, we were told it was glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain cancer. Doctors said that without treatment, I may have only months to live. With treatment, maybe 12 to 18 months. It hit us like a tonne of bricks. At the time, we had been planning to move house, but we cancelled everything to focus on treatment.
In April, I had a second craniotomy at Hull Royal Infirmary where surgeons were able to remove around 89% of the tumour – more than expected. The following month, I was fitted for a radiotherapy mask at Castle Hill Hospital and began six weeks of radiotherapy alongside oral chemotherapy (temozolomide). I completed an initial six-month course of chemotherapy and then chose to extend treatment for another six months, finishing in December 2023.
After surgery, I had to relearn simple daily tasks like walking, cooking and even making a cup of tea.
At first, I lived under the illusion that everything would go back to normal, but once treatment stopped, reality set in. I spent time grieving for the life I thought I’d lost. In time, I decided I wasn’t going to let this define me.
Since finishing treatment, I’ve had MRI scans every three months and my results have remained stable for more than two years. So, together with my husband Danny and our four kids, I turned my focus to raising funds and awareness of Brain Tumour Research.
In August, Danny and I were proud to complete the Cycle 274 Miles Challenge, raising more than £1,000 for the cause.
Danny said that when I was diagnosed our world fell apart, but taking on challenges has given us something positive to focus on as a family.
We’ve raised more than £7,000 which will fund more than two days of research at the Nottingham Centre of Excellence which is scheduled to open next year.
This Centre is working to improve diagnosis and treatment for adults with glioblastoma, the same type of tumour I was diagnosed with.
Glioblastoma is brutal. Most people diagnosed are told they may only have 12 to 18 months to live. I’ve already beaten those odds, but we urgently need more research so that others can have hope too. Knowing that the money we’ve raised is going towards research gives me hope that one day other families might get a different outcome.
I know this tumour isn’t going away, but as long as I’m here, I’ll continue to raise awareness and support research until a cure is found.
Verity Phillips
October 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 Verity’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.
