A man wrote birthday cards for the first 30 years of his twin daughters' lives as he was dying from an aggressive brain tumour.

Nick, from Lindfield, West Sussex, died in 2020 at the age of 34. His twin daughters, Rose and Sophia, were just 17 months old at the time.

His wife Victoria said: "He wanted to be with them in spirit as they celebrated their birthdays".

She is now campaigning for increased research funding for brain tumours.

Nick was only able to communicate non-verbally for the last six months of his life.

Victoria said: "Nick was everyone's rock, and very much mine.

"He was incredibly strong and went to work every day of his radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which I was inspired by."

She said the birthday cards would give the twins "a better idea of where he was at that stage in his life".

Victoria is now supporting a petition calling for greater awareness of the cancer.

She said: "Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and young people under the age of 40, yet they have received just 1% of the national spend on cancer research since records began in 2002. This is tragic and has to change."

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "Nick's shockingly sad story is a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of brain tumours and the fact more has to be done to stop this disease wreaking havoc on families."

Source: BBC 

BDST: 1132 HRS, JULY 14, 2023
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