Teen’s agony as mum and dad both die of brain tumours within seven weeks of each other
A TEENAGER has been left heartbroken after her mum and dad both tragically died of brain tumours within seven weeks of each other.
Ali Slaymaker, 49, from Bury St Edmund, Suffolk, passed away on August 24 last year, leaving behind her partner Steve Morrisey, 50, and their 13-year-old daughter.
They moved to Cullompton, Devon, to be closer to his family after the loss before Steve also died of a glioblastoma on October 12.
Steve’s nephew Ben Brown, 31, of Tiverton, Devon, said the deaths came as a shock to the family, with his uncle showing no signs of being ill before suddenly collapsing in 2022.
It is not known when Ali first got symptoms.
Ben said: “Before my uncle collapsed there had been nothing prior to then. He was fit and healthy.
“We lost both him and Ali in such a short space of time. It really is heartbreaking the whole situation.
“Thankfully their daughter is doing amazing considering what she has been through. She is astonishing.”
Glioblastomas are very aggressive brain tumours that affect around 3,200 Brits a year.
The Wanted’s Tom Parker died from one in March 2022, as did Baroness Margaret McDonagh, a Labour peer, in June 2023.
Campaigner Laura Nuttall, who inspired Peter Kay‘s first gig in four years, also died from the disease in May 2023, and Tessa Jowell, a former Labour cabinet minister, passed away in May 2018.
The main treatments currently available are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Symptoms include headaches, seizures, feeling sick, drowsiness, mental or behavioural changes, weakness or paralysis and vision or speech problems.
Steve was diagnosed in 2022 after suffering a seizure.
Scans showed he had a growth on the right side of his brain and the disease spread to become three tumours.
Paying tribute to Steve, Ben said: “He was a very stubborn man but was just a lovely, nice, generous man who would do anything for anyone.”
He and a group of nine other family members, friends and work colleagues have organised a fundraising 280-mile bike ride from Bury St Edmunds to Cullompton — which was Steve’s final journey — in aid of Brain Tumour Research.
FUNDRAISING
Ben said: “I’ve never, ever done a long bike ride before.
“It’s going to be really tough physically and mentally but everyone has been training hard for it so we should be okay.
“I wanted to do something for my uncle in his memory and, even more importantly, raise money for Brain Tumour Research because it is so underfunded.
“Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
“I lost two members of my family to it last year and in 2014 one of my childhood best friends died of a brain tumour.
“So that’s three people I know who have had it and it’s hard to get my head around it.
“They and other people are worth more than the one per cent of funding.
“Watching how brain tumours rip families into pieces has made me realise we need to help make a change and I am attempting to do that by doing something positive.”
What is a glioblastoma?
Glioblastomas are a fast-growing type of cancerous brain tumour.
Symptoms depend on where the tumour is located, but they can include:
- Headaches
- Personality changes
- Memory problems
- Trouble speaking or understanding
- Tiredness
- Depression
- Difficulty thinking
- Seizures
- Problems with eyesight
Scientists don’t fully understand what causes glioblastomas, therefore there is no clear way to prevent the disease.
The main treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The average survival time following a glioblastoma diagnosis is 12 to 18 months.
Only 25 per cent of patients live beyond one year, and just five per cent survive more than five years.
Source: Cancer Research UK and the Brain Tumour Charity