An Aberdeenshire man has completed the Edinburgh Half Marathon in honour of his mum, after what appeared to be a ‘mini stroke’ revealed an aggressive and incurable brain tumour.
Jonny Charles, 29, ran 13.1 miles for Brain Tumour Research after his mum Fiona was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in October 2024. The 61-year-old former primary school teacher had experienced a series of unexplained symptoms that gradually worsened.
Despite a GP assuring the family that Fiona’s case “absolutely does not look like a brain tumour”, a private MRI scan revealed the shocking diagnosis shortly before her 61ˢᵗ birthday. The prognosis for glioblastoma patients is typically just 12 to 18 months.
Jonny said: “I’ll never forget when she called us to come over so she could give the news in person. We sat down in the living room, and she told us she had cancer. It hit me that there were things she might never get to see – weddings, grandchildren, all the moments you take for granted.
“Before Mum’s diagnosis, I had never even heard of glioblastoma. When I started reading about it, what shocked me most was how little funding it receives.”
Jonny was inspired to fight for increased research funding, completing the half marathon on Sunday 24ᵗʰ May. In doing so, he has raised more than £3,000 for the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence, which opened in January 2025 with the aim of increasing clinical trials for glioblastoma treatments.
Donate to Brain Tumour Research and give hope to brain tumour patients like Fiona.
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