Rachel – a widow at 26 – backs drug trial
A NOTTINGHAM widow – whose husband died at 28 with one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumour – is welcoming the world’s first major trial of a cannabisbased drug.
Rachel Bartholomew, 36, who lives in Arnold, was widowed when she was 26 when her husband, David, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma three months after they were married.
He died 10 months later on November 14, 2011.
Rachel, student services manager at the University of Nottingham, said: “The Brain Tumour Charity’s launch of the Sativex trial is such amazing news.
“It gives me massive hope that people like David will have the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
“And gives people living with glioblastomas the beginnings of hope and the opportunity of a good quality, longer life.
“Extra time and making memories is such a precious gift to people living with terminal diagnoses and their loved ones.
“I didn’t get the opportunity to do that with David as after his diagnosis it was all very sudden.
“Instead of planning what we wanted to do with the time he had left, we were faced with trying to make him feel better and more comfortable.
“But I know from talking to other people in similar situations that they were able to focus on what was really important to them and make the most of their time together.”
The couple met in March 2007 when Rachel was an archaeology student in her final year at Leicester University. David proposed eight months later.
They were married on September 2, 2010, and settled down in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Three months later, David’s eyesight began to deteriorate. An optician referred him to an eye hospital.
A CT scan revealed an “anomaly” in his brain and he was referred for a more detailed MRI scan.
One night in the week before Christmas, Rachel was woken up by David having a seizure.
She called an ambulance and at hospital he was put on steroids to reduce pressure on his brain, before having an MRI on Christmas Eve.
Two weeks later, scan results showed that David had a brain tumour. Ten days after that, biopsy results revealed a grade 4 glioblastoma,inoperable due to its position.
Despite radiotherapy and chemotherapy, David’s condition worsened over the following months until his death.
Rachel said: “I couldn’t take it in.
How could my husband die at 28 leaving me a widow at 26?
“I went into shock as, when David was alive, I focused solely on him. When he died, everything we’d been through hit me and I struggled to cope.
“It was the 10th anniversary of his death recently and I had a small gathering with my family in Oxford, and visited the cemetery where we have a natural burial and a tree.”
Rachel – who lives with partner Chris Coldbeck, who she met eight years after David’s death – has been backing the Brain Tumour Charity’s final push to raise the rest of the money to fund the pioneering trial.
Rachel – who did the Sahara Trek for the charity in 2019, raising over £3,000 – added: “It may be too late for David, but I am delighted the trial will give hope to other people living with the devastating prognosis of a glioblastoma and save others my heartache.”
In August, the charity launched an appeal to raise £450,000 for a clinical trial which could extend the lives of glioblastoma patients.
The campaign – spearheaded by Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley, whose dad Robert died from brain cancer in 2011 – raised £400,000 in just three months and the trial is scheduled to go ahead in March.
The trial, led by University of Leeds researchers, will launch at 15 NHS hospitals to assess whether adding Sativex, an oral spray containing cannabinoids THC and CBD, to chemotherapy could extend life for thousands of people with recurrent glioblastoma brain tumours.
This tumour type currently has an average survival of just 10 months.
The phase II trial follows promising results from a phase I study this year which looked at its effect in 27 patients.
Having seen its income drop by over 25 percent last year due to the pandemic and been forced to pause its regular research grant funding programme, the charity still needs to raise another £50,000.
Dr David Jenkinson, the charity’s interim CEO, said: “We are very sorry for Rachel’s loss and are hugely grateful she is sharing David’s story to illustrate how vital our Sativex trial is.
“We are delighted that, thanks to the support and generosity of so many in our community, the ARISTOCRAT trial will begin recruitment of patients in March.
“We know there has been significant interest among patients and researchers alike for some time about the potential activity of cannabinoids in treating glioblastomas.
“We’re really excited that this world-first trial here in the UK could help accelerate these answers and are so grateful to everyone who has donated to help us make this study possible - thank you.
“The recent early-stage findings were really promising and we now look forward to understanding whether adding Sativex to chemotherapy could help offer life-extension and improved quality of life, which would be a major step forward in our ability to treat this devastating disease.”