A mum of four who was told she had just months to live after being diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer has turned her focus to helping to find a cure for the disease.
Verity Phillips, 35, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in February 2022. Her diagnosis came after she collapsed at work with severe headaches, sickness and fatigue – symptoms she initially believed were caused by a new medication she had started for fibromyalgia.
After a scan revealed a mass on her brain, Verity had a craniotomy during which doctors drained excess fluid from her brain and performed a biopsy. Days later, she was given a devastating diagnosis.
“Doctors told me that without treatment I could have just months to live – with treatment, maybe 12 to 18 months. It hit me like a tonne of bricks,” she said.
Verity had a second brain surgery during which around 89% of the tumour was removed. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed, and Verity finished her treatment in December 2023. She has scans every three months since finishing treatment and her results have remained stable for more than two years.
Along with her family, Verity has turned her hand to raising money and awareness to help find a cure for brain tumours, including taking part in our Cycle 274 Miles in August challenge with her husband Danny. Their efforts have raised more than £7,000 for Brain Tumour Research, which could sponsor two days of research at our Centre of Excellence at Imperial College London, where the team is working to improve the diagnosis and treatment of glioblastoma.
Verity added: “Glioblastoma is brutal. Most people diagnosed are given just 12 to 18 months to live. I’ve already beaten those odds, but we need more research so others can have hope too. Knowing that the money we’ve raised is going to Centres like Imperial College London, where scientists are working on better ways to diagnose and treat glioblastoma, gives me real hope that one day other families might get a different outcome.”
You can help fund game-changing research by taking on our autumn challenge, 99 Miles in November, and give hope to brain tumour patients like Verity.
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