FOOD FOR THOUGHT
I’ve battled 4 tumours across 14 years – a bizarre food craving was among the first signs
Headaches and feeling sick are among the more common symptoms - find out others below
A DAD has battled four brain tumours across 14 years - when it came to the third one he developed an unusual symptom.
Dan Horrocks, 33, was diagnosed with his first life-threatening tumour in August 2011, which led to brain surgery and regular scans.
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In May 2014 he was told he had another brain tumour and required surgery and radiotherapy.
A third mass in his brain was then identified in July 2018 after Dan developed an unusual food craving.
This was followed by his latest - a tumour in his brain and one on his spine - which were spotted in October.
Dan was diagnosed with his first of four brain tumours after suffering excruciating headaches, sickness, and dizziness.
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GPs gave him medication to help with his balance, recommended acupuncture, and prescribed antidepressants.
Eventually the golf-ball sized grade two benign tumour was diagnosed after a free eye test at Vision Express when the optician spotted swelling on Dan's optic nerves.
I'm eternally grateful to that optician, that eye test saved my life - I never turn down a freebie
Dan Horrocks
He was rushed to A&E at Russells Hall Hospital then had brain surgery the next day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Birmingham, followed by radiotherapy.
The senior parliamentary researcher and Metropolitan Special Constable, from Battersea, London, said: "I'm eternally grateful to that optician, that eye test saved my life - I never turn down a freebie."
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Dan had to learn to walk, talk and "think" again after the surgery.
He was left with difficulty balancing, and problems with hearing on his left side and reduced use of his left hand.
I was given a week to live after doctors found a decade-old tumour on my brain
Steroids made him gain weight and caused swelling which knocked his confidence.
Dan was diagnosed with a second, grade three, tumour - in his brain stem after a routine scan.
All Dan's tumours have been apendymomas - rare severe tumours which usually affect children around age five or adults around age 45.
Dan said: "The mask they fit for targeted radiotherapy is so tight you can't blink.
"I experienced panic attacks for the first time - it was horrible."
The cancer came back again at the front of his brain where emotions are processed.
Unusual food cravings
It was picked up by another routine scan but also Sonia and Dan noticed odd symptoms.
Dan started craving olives - which he hadn't liked before.
He also wanting spinach and tomatoes for breakfast.
He had brain surgery again at QEH and then radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea.
Dan said: "After the surgery for the third tumour I found it easier to express my emotions - I'm more empathetic and get upset more easily."
After 14 years including radiotherapy, four brain surgeries, one spinal operation, and six-monthly scans, Dan is now on his "last roll of the dice".
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Headed to the US
The dad-of-one has almost run out of treatment options in the UK and has raised £40k to go to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Texas, US, to explore pioneering treatments including genetic testing to find a personalised remedy.
Dan and his wife, Sonia Khan, 32, who works in public affairs, have raised over £50k so far - smashing their £40k fundraising goal.
The money will be spent on travel and consultations - including genetic tests on Dan and his tumour samples - to see if a personalised treatment can be found.
The couple say more targeted radiotherapy is also available in the US.
Dan and Sonia - who both grew up near Birmingham, West Midlands - met and fell in love in 2010 when Dan was studying politics and international relations at Aston University and Sonia was at college.
Despite his illness Dan graduated with a 2:2 degree and the pair moved to London in 2013.
The couple married in 2020 and had their son, Elijah in 2022.
Dan said: "He's a great happy little boy and gives me new determination to get through this.
"The idea of him having to grow up without his dad is too upsetting."
Latest tumour
Dan was diagnosed with a stage three tumour in his brain and one in his spine in October.
He had brain surgery in November and spinal surgery in December.
The tumours are in cells which line the paths where cerebral spinal fluid moves through the spine, and the cancer could come back anywhere in his spine or brain.
He's having radiotherapy on his brain and spine at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton.
This time it will take Dan up to six months to recover.
And doctors have said he's had the maximum radiotherapy they can safely give him on the NHS, and chemotherapy is only likely to be 14 per cent successful in treating his tumours.
I don't ask the doctors for a prognosis because I don't want to know
Dan Horrocks
If a treatment can be found in the US Dan and Sonia will have to fundraise again, they've said.
Dan says he operates on an "ignorance is bliss" protocol to help him cope.
He said: "I don't ask the doctors for a prognosis because I don't want to know - my situation is so rare they wouldn't be able to tell me anyhow.
"I just go through every day and only think about this stuff if I have to.
"I find having a positive attitude is the only way forward.
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"The treatment I'm having now puts me at three times the risk of heart attack or stroke, so to borrow my favourite phrase of Churchill's I have to keep buggering on."
Visit Dan's .
The most common symptoms of a brain tumour
More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives.
The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment.
Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return.
Brain tumours can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.
They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Feeling sick
- Being sick
- Memory problems
- Change in personality
- Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- Vision problems
- Speech problems
If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP.
Source: NHS
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