Father shares brain cancer journey as part of charity awareness drive

Matt Harvey, aged 33, was suffering with headaches, sickness and poor vision in December 2013.

A year later, a routine eye test at Specsavers resulted in him being sent to hospital for rapid diagnostic tests, which revealed a brain tumour.

Matt, from Great Haywood, Staffordshire, who coaches the under-12s team at Milford Athletic Dynamos, was diagnosed with a grade 2 diffuse anaplastic astrocytoma.

He was told that they are initially slow-growing but have a tendency to progress to a higher grade over time, usually over a number of years.

He underwent his first brain surgery, to debulk the tumour, in February 2014 at University Hospital Birmingham.

Matt is married to Cheryl, an administrative assistant.

Together they have Riley, aged 11 and nine-year-old Brooke.

Matt added: “Cheryl and I were in our mid-20s at the time of my first brain surgery and the kids were only young.

"It was a difficult time for all of us, especially afterwards when I was put on heavy-duty steroids to reduce and prevent inflammation inside my brain.

"I put a lot of weight on and my personality changed. Cheryl was really worried about me.”

By 2017 Matt was being monitored with annual MRI scans and life was beginning to return to normal, when medics found the tumour had grown back and was now a grade 3 tumour.

He said: “I knew this was a possibility but it was still a shock after three years of clear scans.

"We had a holiday booked to Spain that April, but all plans had to be put on hold as I was back at UHB for my second craniotomy on April 26, 2017.”

This time around Matt’s neurosurgeon, Dr Ismail Ughratdar, performed an eight-hour-long awake craniotomy.

The operation involved being woken up from general anaesthetic and asked to perform simple tasks such as speaking, moving his hands and feet, and other basic neurological tests.

This was followed by six weeks of radiotherapy and 12 months of chemotherapy. Last Christmas, the Harvey family was given more bad news.

The tumour had grown back and this time it was grade 4 and he would need another awake craniotomy, this time at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Hartshill.

Matt said: “I felt more apprehensive going in for awake surgery this time, knowing what to expect. It was tougher than the last one as I had to lie on my side.

"The side effects were worse too; I still can’t feel my legs properly and suffer from tingling sensations, like pins and needles.

“On the plus side, my neurosurgeon Dr Erminia Albanese, said the surgery went really well; she succeeded in removing the majority of the tumour.”

Matt is now on another course of chemotherapy, to treat the residual tumour. He also had healthy tissue removed and sent to UHB, where he is part of a clinical trial.

Having been forced to give up his work as a roofer, due to the physical nature of the role, he now works as a team leader at Truss Form in Seighford.

He is working with the Brain Tumour Research charity to raise awareness of the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40.

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence in the UK, it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.

The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes.

To donate to Brain Tumour Research go to braintumourresearch.org/donation/donate-now