Preston mum-of-three says ‘trust your instincts’ after losing beloved husband to brain tumour

After her ‘fit and healthy’ husband died from a brain tumour, a Preston mum-of-three says anyone who is worried they may have a tumour should ‘trust their instincts’.

Lara Griffith’s husband, Karl, died from a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour at 54-years-old.

After the family noticed something was wrong in May 2020, Karl went to his GP with a permanent headache, who said he was stressed and should take a few days off work, but his condition got worse.

Karl underwent blood tests in July, which all came back clear, but in September, he went back to his GP, who referred him for a scan at Royal Preston Hospital.

The scan revealed a mass on his brain and in October, Karl underwent an awake craniotomy and had three tumours removed, but they were unable to remove a fourth.

Karl was doing well until the end of November when he began to decline and lost his sight in one eye.

He moved into St Catherine’s Hospice in Lostock Hall, where he started hallucinating and thought nurses were trying to kill him.

On 6 January 2022, Karl died peacefully with his family by his side.

Lara said: “The effect of the brain tumour was devastating and so indiscriminate. Karl didn’t drink or smoke.

“I was angry with the doctors for not picking up on his symptoms, and it took so long to get a scan.

“I would tell anyone in a similar position to trust their instincts.”

Lara is working with the charity Brain Tumour Research, to help raise awareness of the fact that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

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