Money raised as Stewkley man battles terminal brain cancer

A woman whose husband has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer has raised more than £11,000 to fund vital research.

Simon Penwright, 52, from Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, was diagnosed with a multifocal glioblastoma (GBM) tumour in January and given just a year to live.

His wife Emily, 46, organised fundraising pages and events to raise cash for Brain Tumour Research.

The charity wished Mr Penwright "all the best with his ongoing treatment".

Mr Penwright woke up on 24 January with a severe headache and an inexplicable foul taste and smell, which was later identified as a seizure aura - the precursor to a seizure.

His wife said: "Si was so healthy that he never even took paracetamol.

"I rang 111 and was put down for an urgent call back but, having still not heard anything 45 minutes later, I turned to our GP next-door neighbour for help.

"Everything was fine until he did a vision check and found he had lost his left peripheral vision, at which point he told me to take him straight to A&E."

A CT scan revealed that Simon had a mass at the back of his head.

"We were told of the two types of multifocal GBM he could have - his is the most unfavourable as it's most resistant to chemo," she said.

He underwent a debulking surgery in February, followed by three weeks of high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

A GoFundMe page was set up following the diagnosis to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

With the help of friends, a race night fundraiser was set up at Southcott Village Residents' Association (SVRA) in Linslade, Leighton Buzzard.

The event included an auction, with a week's stay in Cornwall and a Red Bull Racing cap signed by Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen among the lots sold.

Other fundraising events included a school "wear a hat" day and a bingo night at The Carpenters Arms in Stewkley.

The £11,000 raised was enough to sponsor four days of research at one of the charity's Centres of Excellence.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "We wish Simon all the best with his ongoing treatment and are so grateful to Emily and her friends and family for their tremendous fundraising efforts."

Find BBC News: East of of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story for us, email [email protected] or get in touch via WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830