Alex was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour in 2022, at the age of 30. Whilst undergoing treatment, he trained for and ran the 2024 London Marathon, raising over £8,000 for vital brain research.
Alex sought medical advice when his nipple started to leak. His wife, Steph, was pregnant with their second child at the time and ‘sweet as the sympathetic side effects were, we knew he needed to get it checked out’.
Tests revealed a tumour in his brain, in his pituitary gland. This was causing high levels of the hormone prolactin in Alex’s blood, which in turn was causing the leaking nipples.
Thankfully the tumour turned out to be benign.
‘Fast-forward to the present, and Alex is no longer leaky but is on some pretty strong medication to (hopefully) shrink the benign brain tumour, and avoid surgery,’ explains Steph.
An unfortunate side-effect of the medication is that it makes Alex very sleepy, which makes life with two young children challenging.
As well as handling the treatment, being Dad to two young children, and running a successful business, Alex decided stretch himself even further by running the London Marathon.
‘When Alex told me he was running the London Marathon in 2024 for Brain Research UK, I was about as shocked as when he first told me had a brain tumour… Alex, the rock, isn’t built for running. Alex, my rock, is uncrackable!’
Alex has raised over £8,000 to support our research into brain tumours and other neurological conditions. If you’d like to support his amazing effort, please visit his fundraising page.
Brain tumours kill more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet research into brain tumours is underfunded relative to research into many other cancers. This is reflected in the lack of progress in treating these tumours and the continued poor prognosis for patients.
This is why we are focusing our research funding on brain tumours as one of our three priority research areas. We want to improve the outlook for people with brain tumours by funding research that takes forward our understanding of the mechanisms underlying tumour development, and helps develop better ways to diagnose and treat these tumours so that people like Alex have the best possible outlook.
Read more: About brain tumours | Our research in brain tumours
