Ollie from Kent was diagnosed with an astrocytoma after an optician noticed a build-up of pressure behind his eyes. A scan in November 2022 confirmed Ollie, who was 27 at the time, had a tumour on his brain. Doctors initially thought he was experiencing migraines due to the stress of his job in finance. He underwent three awake craniotomies, during all of which, the amateur guitar player strummed indie songs to reduce the risk of life-changing injuries. Despite radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Ollie suffered a catastrophic seizure which left him too weak for further treatment. He died in September 2024 when he was just 29. It has motivated a community of friends and family to help fund the fight to help find a cure for the disease.

Here is Ollie’s story, as told by his mum, Jo…
There were a few occasions Ollie went to the GP for headaches. He was told they were migraines likely caused by the stress of his job. Ollie worked in finance but never once complained about feeling overwhelmed, perhaps that was just a red flag for the doctor.
His blood tests came back normal apart from a B12 deficiency.
On 12th November 2022 I took him to Boots Opticians at The Glades in Bromley and the optometrist said there was pressure in his head which was ‘off the scale’ and she referred him immediately to A&E.
Ollie was vomiting and went home straight to bed, the next day we went to A&E at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) in Farnborough.
He passed all the neurological tests. He could walk in a straight line, touch his nose with his finger and count backwards. A month before, he’d even played in a tennis tournament and won his three matches.
Until his headaches and vomiting, he was living as normal.
Later that day, Ollie had an MRI scan, and we were called into a room for the results.
The doctor shared his disbelief, saying she couldn’t believe Ollie was still functioning, because he had a huge growth in his head, and he needed an operation.
Whilst awaiting a transfer to King’s College Hospital in London, Ollie had a massive tonic-clonic seizure and crashed. My husband, Den, had just left the room to get a drink. Ollie went stiff and blacked out. I had to push the emergency call button, and the resus team attended, and we were blue-lighted to London.
Everything was a blur.
Den and I were quite naïve. We’d heard the finding described as a tumour and assumed it was going to be a lump, something that could be treated.
We went home and got a few bits to take back to the hospital. It’s mad to think after everything that happened, we nipped home.
By the time we got to King’s, Ollie was talking and seemed more himself which I think was down to the steroids and painkillers.
On 16th November, he had his first operation, a 13-hour awake craniotomy during which he was asked to play guitar. He played Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers which he said was quite complicated.
They removed around 80% of the tumour which was diagnosed as an astrocytoma. He spent 10 days in hospital and the surgeon told us they thought they’d be able to get more of the tumour with another operation. Ollie obliged, his thought process was, ‘well we’re here so let’s do it’.
He had another awake craniotomy on 29th November which lasted nine hours. This time his motor function was tested as he played Arctic Monkeys on his acoustic guitar. His cognition was examined through having to call out facial expressions of people he was shown via an iPad. He was given another test where he had to say the colour of the text, even though the word itself was written in a different colour.
He recovered quickly and came home on 4th December; I remember because that’s my birthday and it was a nice present to have him out of hospital.
At the end of January 2023, Ollie started radiotherapy at Guy’s Hospital. He had 33 sessions in total which was horrendous. Ollie was claustrophobic, and the mask was too much for him. He had lorazepam to help calm him and had the eyes and mouth cut away from the mask which held his head in place during the sessions. The staff there were incredible at talking to Ollie to help ease his nerves, each time, counting down the seconds until the treatment finished.
Two months later in March, he started chemotherapy which continued into April 2024. He had 12 cycles altogether which left him sometimes feeling fatigued and sick, but he soon bounced back and felt like he was fighting fit.
To all our surprise, Ollie ended up in surgery for a third time which was risky as the tumour, which had grown on the cavity edge left by the initial mass, was close to his motor function. He played the guitar once again but this time he struggled and found it difficult to do.
He started on PCV chemotherapy but only managed to have lomustine. In August, he was due to start the full range of PCV chemo drugs including procarbazine, and vincristine, but he had a seizure and ended up being taken to the PRUH. Doctors suspected this was probably due to an infection and became more of an occurrence if Ollie was a bit tired, or low.
He was in a bad way, in and out of consciousness and he couldn’t communicate that well. Days before, he’d been up and about walking outside along a favourite route we took together.
An MRI confirmed the tumour had grown to a point where it was out of control and there were no more treatment options. They didn’t know how long Ollie had left and were doubtful he’d make it through the weekend.
His friends rallied around him, visiting him in the hospital and eventually at St Christopher’s Hospice in Sydenham where he seemed to improve. He could stand once again, he started to eat and really picked up. He kept his dark sense of humour throughout, often making light of challenging situations.
Ollie spent six weeks in the hospice. He died on 28th September 2024, aged 29.
His brothers, Jake who is 27 and Luke, 23, have been through a lot too. Seeing Ollie so desperately unwell and being with him on an occasion when he had a seizure. They were best friends and did most things together, playing music, going to gigs and comedy shows, all the friends they had in common, they spent a lot of time together. They were a lot of the reason Ollie fought to keep going, being a great mentor to his little brothers.
Our house has continued to be a hub for his friends to gather, some of which are like sons to me and Den.
It was hard to watch Ollie, a once well-groomed young man, lose his independence because of this disease. It was a world we didn’t know anything about until we were very much in it. Now, I hear more and more about people who have been affected by a brain tumour.
There have been no huge changes in brain tumour treatment in decades and that’s something that is on our radar and what we would like to change and be part of the solution.
In February, Ollie’s friends and colleagues are taking on their own walk, raising money for Brain Tumour Research. Setting off from their Kingswood, Surrey office, they’ll visit Wimbledon, Cannon Street and stop at the Emirates stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club which was his favourite team. Den and I will be there for part of the walk too.
We are eternally grateful to those who helped care for Ollie throughout his journey. We know there is still a long way to go in finding kinder treatments and ultimately a cure for all types of brain tumours. We will continue to remember and create a legacy for Ollie, to help future patients and their families facing this devastating disease.
Jo Saunders
February 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 touched by Ollie’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