Dad of brain tumour child from Tring backs campaign relaunch

The father of a boy who was diagnosed with a brain tumour wants more people to support the relaunch of an awareness campaign.
Charlie and Ian PudneyCharlie and Ian Pudney
Charlie and Ian Pudney

Charlie Pudney, from Tring, was just seven years old when his symptoms led to a devastating diagnosis.

Charlie’s dad, Ian, said the onset of symptoms and subsequent brain tumour diagnosis in 2015, turned their family’s life upside down.

“Charlie had been unwell for little more than a few weeks really, with lethargy, vomiting in the morning and the occasional headache,” Ian said.

“What we had assumed to be a wildly speculative CT scan at the hospital revealed this devastating news and immediately started the darkest week of our lives.”

The earth shattering news led Charlie to undergo a biopsy that discovered a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma, a rare and malignant tumour that affects less than 40 children a year in the UK.

“No-one deserves to go through this,” Ian said. “Not the kids or their friends or their families.”

Charlie, now eight, was diagnosed early and that meant he was able to make a recovery. The HeadSmart brain tumour symptoms campaign was formally relaunched this week.

Professor David Walker, co-director of The Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, said: “This relaunch of the HeadSmart campaign uses new evidence, justifying a new approach to healthcare professionals, young people and parents of younger children.”

Visit www.headsmart.org.uk for more information about the campaign and details of symptoms.