'My suspicion about my wife cheating was a sign of brain tumour'
A dad is defying the odds after surgery for brain tumour which made him convinced his wife was having an affair.
Father-of-four, Andy Hampton, 54, from Sturminster Newton, Dorset, became distant and apathetic, and paranoid his wife of three years, Gemma, 37, was cheating on him.
That wasn't the end of the uncharacteristic behaviour as after the birth of his son Henley, the once-doting dad showed an unusual lack of interest in his family and became forgetful.
The family later discovered the cause of Andy's bizarre symptoms was actually a deadly glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour.
“We have always been secure in our relationship," Gemma previously explains.
“However, shortly after having Henley, I noticed huge changes in Andy’s personality.
“I would ask him to change Henley’s nappy to which he would say he had a headache and I had to do it.
“At first I thought it was an excuse and that he was struggling adapting to life with two young children.
“It felt as though Andy wasn’t listening to me, and because I kept pointing out things that he was doing wrong, his paranoia caused him to believe things that weren’t true.
"He kept saying he knew it was all in his head but he couldn’t stop the thoughts."
From March to May 2023 Gemma describes her husband as being "all over the place".
The "final straw" came when he was making the bed and couldn’t figure out how to take the duvet out of the cover.
He booked a check up with his GP.
On the way to the appointment, Andy vomited and the doctor referred him urgently to A&E at Dorset County Hospital with a suspected infection.
Within 24 hours Andy’s cognition had deteriorated. He had a scan and was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM).
A glioblastoma is a fast-growing type of tumour that is the most common type of primary malignant brain tumour in adults.
Andy had debulking surgery on 31 May 2023 at Southampton General Hospital followed by six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
His wife says "life has returned to his eyes" following the initial surgery and treatment.
“Instantly after the operation Andy’s mood changed, and his personality resembled the old Andy," Gemma explains.
“We felt better knowing that there was something to blame for Andy’s behaviour and that it wasn’t our marriage breaking down.
“We knew what we were dealing with and could work on a plan of action on how to battle the cancer.”
As a result of the high-grade tumour being positioned on Andy’s optical nerve, his eyesight is now severely impaired, and invasive radiotherapy has damaged his hearing.
“It’s been over a year since Andy was diagnosed, and we’re one of the lucky ones," Gemma continues.
"He was initially given a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, but Andy is a fighter, and he is feeling more like his old self after coming off chemotherapy."
Despite the immense challenges the father-of-four will be scaling Yr Wyddfa, a 1,085 metre (3,560 feet) peak in Wales with his four-year-old daughter Isabelle, raising money and awareness for the charity Brain Tumour Research.
"The thing with Andy is he probably doesn’t have the energy for this challenge, but he always finds a way," Gemma says of her husband.
Speaking about the climb, Andy, an experienced hiker and marathon runner says: “The fact remains that this disease affects children more than adults.
"I know it’s too late for me, but I can’t leave a world where children are made to suffer like this. Something needs to be done.
"This will be my first time tackling the mountain since my diagnosis," he continues.
"It will be harder than ever before, but I’m ready to push myself to the limit to fight this disease.
"I’ve always dreamed of having a full English breakfast at the summit with the sun going up, so I just have to go back.”
The summit climb this week marks the third time the family have supported the charity since Andy's diagnosis and they hope it will help raise awareness about symptoms to look out for.
“We didn’t know anything about brain tumours before the diagnosis," Gemma says. "Until it affects you, you just don’t realise how underfunded research is, and how brutal the treatments are.
"I remember watching Andy as he was strapped to his hospital bed and had his brain zapped with radiotherapy. It’s shocking.
“When we first took Andy to hospital, there was not a single leaflet to be found on brain tumours.
"We are so conditioned to look out for breast cancer, lung cancer, and so on, but are never made aware of the signs of brain cancer.
“We had a brain tumour staring us in the face the whole time and we didn’t pick up on it.”
Louise Aubrey, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, has described Andy as "an inspiration."
“Andy’s determination and spirit in the face of this devastating disease is an inspiration to us all," she says.
"Research we are funding across our Centres of Excellence will help lead towards improving treatments and finding a cure for GBM.”
You can support Andy’s fundraiser by making a donation at: www.justgiving.com/page/gemma-hampton-1715798453002.
Additional reporting SWNS.
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