From brain tumour to half marathon – again

A brain tumour survivor from Bath is running a half marathon for the second time, aiming to finish in under three hours.

Jane Edwards, pictured, from Bath, whose partner was recovering from a heart attack, went to see her optician around seven years ago.

Her optician immediately referred her for scans. Jane said: “She faxed a letter to my GP the same day and was very insistent that I get looked at immediately. Her persistence saved my life.”

Jane had a brain tumour. A meningioma, growing very close to her carotid artery.

After surgery that resulted in a scar from ear to ear and a metal plate in her skull, Jane’s life was changed for ever.

Until then, she had been working full time as a senior social worker at a local authority and was the main carer for her 10-year-old son.

Jane said: “I was very unwell. I couldn’t get off the sofa or even walk to the end of the garden.

“I couldn’t move my mouth properly so eating was difficult. My friends and neighbours did everything for me.

“It’s so hard to put into words what brain surgery does to you. The fatigue I felt was something else.

“I didn’t know myself anymore. I found it difficult to follow conversations; I got overwhelmed easily; I had double vision; and found decision making really difficult.

“I had to re-learn about my body. “When I got diagnosed, I didn’t know anyone who had had a brain tumour. I didn’t know who to turn to for advice or support.”

This is when Jane found the Brain Tumour Support Group.

She said: “Everyone talked about their fears so openly and honestly, it was amazing.

“I saw a counsellor, provided by Brain Tumour Support, who helped me get to know myself again.”

Six years after being diagnosed, Jane found herself saying that she would run the Bath Half Marathon.

She said: “I don’t know what came over me. I could just about take the dog for a walk at that point. I had never run before in my life.”

Jane started off using the BBC Couch to 5K app.

She said: “It should have taken me nine weeks. I took twice as long, but I did it. I wouldn’t call it ‘running’ – it was more like plodding.”

Despite terrible headaches, dizzy spells and even falling over several times, she got herself a new pair of running shoes and started building up from 5km to 10km.

Jane said: “I cannot tell you how it felt to cross that line. It was about so much more than just completing a run. It was a celebration of how far I had come.”

Jane raised more than £1,500 in sponsorship for Brain Tumour Support and this year plans to do it all over again.

Visit braintumoursupport.co.uk/ janes-half-marathon