Unlike most other cancers, brain tumours are on the increase. Health and Education Editor Barry Nelson hears the story of one family's battle against this dreaded disease

A GRIEVING widow who lost her husband to an aggressive brain tumour is appealing for people across the region to take part in Wear A Hat Day, the UK’s main brain tumour awareness event, raising money to improve the lives of patients and help find a cure.

Julie Annis, 46, from Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, lost John, 48, her husband of 27 years, in December just a year after his diagnosis with a grade four glioblastoma brain tumour (GBM).

John, a former soldier who served for 22 years, and a keen trout fisherman, died a few days before Christmas 2014 at the home the couple shared with their eight-year-old daughter Sophie.

The awareness event, on Friday March 27 is the culmination of national Brain Tumour Awareness Month and will see people donning beanies and boaters, top hats and trilbies, fascinators and fedoras, and making donations to Brain Tumour Research.

The charity funds a network of research centres across the UK. All those who take part in Wear A Hat Day are helping to fund the fight against brain tumours, which take children from their parents and parents from their children before their time.

Before John’s illness the couple travelled the world together with the army - they were in Berlin when the infamous Wall came down and a subsequent posting to Brunei allowed them to explore places like Australia, Hong Kong, Bali, Singapore and Thailand.

After John’s time in the army was over the couple moved back to North Yorkshire in 2007 when their daughter was one-and-a-half.

All went well until February 2013 when John, who was then working at Boulby Potash Mine, began to feel ill.

By October that year he was having very bad headaches. In November, he suffered a couple of seizures and his behaviour changed.

“He had lost interest in everything. He just worked and slept,” recalls Julie.

In late November he had a big seizure while he was work and his health began to go downhill.

Julie persuaded him to go the walk-in medical centre in Guisborough and while he was there he was having seizures every 15 minutes.

After scans and tests at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough the couple were told that doctors had found a brain tumour.

“That’s when our world fell apart. John’s sister had died, aged 46, some ten years before, from cancer, and telling his other sister and mother was not an easy task,” says Julie.

In early December 2013 John had neurosurgery to remove most of the tumour but the news was not good - it was confirmed as an aggressive form of cancer.

“We were numb; we didn’t ask how long he had got and they didn’t say,” recalls Julie.

John then endured six weeks of radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy, which put him back in hospital for a while.

After more scans in July 2014 the consultant told them that the tumour had increased in size and would need further surgery. This took place on July 29.

John’s health continued to decline as the year advance and the morning after the couple attended the schools Christmas carol service in Great Ayton the final crisis came.

“John died in my arms on the bathroom floor at 7.15am on December 20. The last word he said to me were ‘I’m alright’”.

Sophie wrote a poem for her father which she read out at his funeral. It begins: “I fought for my country, I fought really hard. I loved my fishing but life was so hard. My daughter is precious, my wife so loyal. But me on my own couldn’t fight cancer at all.”

Julie is now committed to helping support Brain Tumour Research, both in her spare time and at work as club secretary at Saltburn Golf Club, to raise funds and awareness.

Julie has this message for the people of the North-East: “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet just one per cednt of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to this devastating disease. This is unacceptable!

“ I hope that sharing our story will help to raise awareness and encourage people to take part in Wear A Hat Day, raising funds for vital research to help other patients like John and to prevent other families having to go through the suffering we have endured,” she says.

Now in its sixth year, Wear A Hat Day is dedicated to the memory of patients like John who are lost to a cancer which hasn’t seen the same advancements in understanding and treatment as some other cancers and is now more common than a generation ago.

Sue Farrington Smith, chief executive of the Brain Tumour Research says: “Wearing a hat for the day is a simple and fun way of raising awareness and money. It also sends a great message of hope, solidarity and support for families like Julie and Sophie.

"We are striving to fund a network of seven dedicated research centres whilst challenging the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research. Help us fund the fight. Together we will find a cure.”

The charity is urging people to get involved by wearing a hat and making a donation, buying specially designed pin badges or a limited edition brooch. Full details and registration for a fundraising pack, as well as quizzes and competitions are available from wearahatday.org or call 01296 733011. To donate £5 text the word HAT to 70660.