Man’s ‘running injury’ turns out to be a sign of deadly brain cancer

When Sean Ryan Sweeney began experiencing headaches, neck pain and tingling down the right side of his body in January 2022, he put it down to a running or weight training injury.

But when the senior accounts director, 31, from Doncaster, went to a physiotherapist, he found no relief. 

He said: ‘In the end, the physio told me they couldn’t identify the cause of the pain and discharged me, which was worrying.

‘I remember feeling frustrated and unsettled, thinking, I don’t feel right, but not being able to explain why. I was struggling to concentrate and the symptoms just kept lingering.’

Then just months later, on July 19, things ‘escalated quickly’. 

He said: ‘I was woken up in the early hours by my partner Lucy after I had a seizure. She called 999 straight away and within 20 minutes I was blue-lighted to Doncaster Royal Infirmary.’

There he had a CT scan which showed something concerning, so he was referred to a specialist team at Sheffield Royal Hallamshire for further tests which revealed the true cause.

Initially doctors thought he had a low-grade tumour, but it was later discovered that he had a grade 3 astrocytoma, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer and he was told he had just 10 years left to live. 

‘When I was told they’d found a lesion on my brain, I felt completely numb. I didn’t cry or panic. My mind went straight to Lucy and my family,’ he said.

Mr Sweeney’s cancer requires intense treatment, which began with a nearly 10-hour long surgery known as a craniotomy to debulk the tumour, that he underwent while awake, in November that year.

This type of operation is generally done while a patient is awake to allow surgeons to observe brain function in real-time by having patients perform tasks while they stimulate the brain.

‘Before the operation, I had sessions with a clinical psychologist who talked me through everything from the moment I arrived at hospital to discharge,’ said Mr Sweeney.

‘When the team explained the awake craniotomy, they said I seemed calm and unfazed, but it was still a huge thing to face.’

During the surgery, he suffered a stroke. He said: ‘Because I was awake, I remember the exact moment things changed.  

‘I could hear the psychologist telling the surgeons my speech was becoming slurred. The next day I had problems walking and one side of my face had dropped.

‘It was frightening, but thankfully with rehabilitation I recovered and today you wouldn’t know I’d had a stroke at all.’

It was after this that he was told it was a grade 3 astrocytoma, a type of high-grade glioma which is fast growing and more advanced, often requiring aggressive treatment. 

This includes chemotherapy and radiotherapy which he started in early 2023 and finished in February the following year. 

After five gruelling weeks of radiotherapy and 12 rounds of chemo his condition is said to be stable. 

‘Finishing treatment doesn’t mean everything goes back to normal – you’re still living with the impact, and for high-grade tumours like mine there still isn’t a cure,’ he said.

It is estimated more than 4,500 people are diagnosed with malignant brain tumours -those which are cancerous – in the UK each year.

Symptoms of the type he was diagnosed with include headaches, difficulty speaking, changes in vision, cognitive difficulties and seizures. 

Now Mr Sweeney is sharing his story and fundraising for the charity Brain Tumour Research, which is trying to find a cure for all types of brain tumours.

He and his father-in law Carl Hathaway, 59, raised over £2,500 completing Sir Chris Hoy’s 60KM Tour de 4 cycling challenge together.

The pair are planning to step up to the 100km route next year.

Mr Sweeney said: ‘Carl drove me to so many of my radiotherapy sessions and, in those journeys, our bond really strengthened.

‘Even in the darkest moments, we somehow found a way to have a laugh.

‘He’s become the father figure I never had.

‘We both love cycling, so when the Tour de 4 was announced, we were keen to take part.

‘Completing it together was a massive milestone for me – it was the first endurance event I’d ever finished – and I couldn’t quite believe I was capable of doing it after everything my body had been through.

‘It’s shocking how little funding brain tumours receive compared to other cancers.’

Ashley McWilliams, Community Development Manager at the charity, said: ‘It is only with increased funding and more research that we can find a cure for patients like Sean.

‘His experience also highlights the reality that treatment can be gruelling, and recovery can be long, with life-changing consequences even when someone looks well on the outside.

‘We are incredibly grateful to Sean for sharing his story and for supporting our work through fundraising to help change the story for brain tumour patients.’