Wigan dad whose brain tumour surgery was filmed backs charity's campaign

James Hinnigan, from Ashton, was diagnosed in 2015 while living in Australia with his partner Wendi and their son Cameron.

Then just 36 years old, he started experiencing a tingling sensation in his feet and lower legs. He lost co-ordination and strength in his arms and legs, and his speech seemed to come and go.

At first doctors thought James had suffered a stroke, but an MRI scan showed a low-grade glioma brain tumour.

He and his family moved back to Wigan to be closer to relatives and James was referred to London’s Charing Cross Hospital for treatment, where he had surgery in March 2016.

James, now 41, said: “To say I was buzzing after the surgery would be an understatement. I felt so lucky to have undergone a successful operation and I couldn’t wait to be 100 per cent, get back to work and get on with my life.”

James agreed to have his brain tumour surgery filmed to help awareness of the disease.

The procedure, called an awake craniotomy, involves keeping the patient awake throughout the majority of the procedure. By assessing James’ speech, surgeons were able to determine how much of the tumour they could remove without damaging healthy brain tissue.

Now, James and his family are supporting Brain Tumour Research by calling on the public to sign the charity’s petition to increase the national investment into brain tumour research to £35m a year.

The family has worked with the charity to create a video appeal to help it achieve its aim of getting 100,000 signatures before March, which is Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

The charity says the increased investment will bring parity of funding with other cancers such as leukaemia, breast and prostate. Historically, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours.

James said: “I always think about the tumour: will it come back and, if so, when? When people you’ve met with the disease have had recurrences and some have even died, you can’t help but wonder what’s next. It’s scary to think about how many lives this disease claims every year and yet how little the Government invests into research to find treatments and one day, perhaps even a cure.

"I really urge everyone to get behind Brain Tumour Research’s petition; increasing the national spend on brain tumour research will make a big difference towards helping more people survive.”

According to Brain Tumour Research, more people under the age of 40 die of a brain tumour than any other cancer and the five-year survival rate is just 12 per cent, compared to more than 70 per cent for breast and prostate cancers.

Since national cancer spend records began in 2002, £680m has been invested in breast cancer and £96m in brain tumours – a difference of £35m a year over 17 years.

Hugh Adams, spokesman for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours still kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet despite promises of increased investment in research from the Government and larger cancer charities, we are still not seeing parity of funding with other cancers such as breast, prostate and leukaemia. This is not acceptable and we will continue to push for change until this injustice has been resolved.

“We are grateful to the many people who have already signed our petition and the families who continue to share their heartbreaking stories to help us raise awareness and to drive change.”

The charity is aiming to get 100,000 signatures by March and so far more than 80,000 people have pledged their support.

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