Man living with terminal brain tumour prepares to spend 'last Christmas' with wife

A man with a terminal brain tumour is preparing to spend his “last Christmas” with his wife.

It took two years and three MRI scans before Dan Potts was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in December 2021.

He started getting headaches and weakness down the right-side of his body in December 2018.

After an MRI scan at Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Guernsey, where he was living at the time, he was told a pinched nerve was causing the problems.

Six months later, the pain had become “unbearable” so Dan had another MRI scan but was again told he had a pinched nerve.

After a third scan in December 2021, he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma.

Dan had a craniotomy at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on December 29, 2021. Brain Tumour Research

“I was told it was terminal and any treatment would just be to try to prolong my life because there was no cure,” he said.

“I was told this on an open hospital ward with no privacy, which was not very nice. I was crying; I just didn’t expect news like that. The average survival time is just 12 to 18 months which is devastating.”

Dan had a craniotomy at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on December 29, 2021.

The procedure “went well”, but he now has epilepsy and is on four different types of anti-seizure medication.

He has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and has just finished a six-month course of a higher dose of chemotherapy.

“We think this Christmas may be our last together, so we just want to have Christmas dinner and spend some quality time together,” said Dan.

Dan and wife Liah are raising funds for Brain Tumour Research, Macmillan, and St. John's in Keswick. — Dan and wife Liah are raising funds for Brain Tumour Research, Macmillan, and St. John’s in Keswick. Brain Tumour Research

“We both love Christmas, but we were apart last year because I was in intensive care so Christmas was cancelled. It’s tough but we’re both facing this head-on and trying to be as positive as possible.”

Dan and wife, Liah, 26, are now raising money for Brain Tumour Research, Macmillan, and St. John’s in Keswick – where Dan wants to be buried.

Dan said: “It’s so important to raise as much money and awareness of brain tumours. There is such a lack of funding, and the treatment hasn’t changed in over 20 years. That has got to change.”

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We are so sorry to hear of Dan’s diagnosis.

“We are really grateful to him and Liah for crowdfunding for us, as it’s only with the support of people like them that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Dan who are forced to fight this awful disease.”

You can donate to Dan and Liah’s JustGiving page by clicking here.