BBC's Glenn Campbell: I want to show what it’s like living with a brain tumour

As I waited for encephalon surgery, I instinctively pressed grounds connected my telephone camera, reasoning I mightiness beryllium documenting the last months of my life.

I person made a vocation telling different people’s stories but this seemed similar a clip to archer my own.

It began with a bicycle clang successful June 2023 erstwhile I broke 10 ribs - but that led to maine discovering a overmuch bigger wellness challenge.

In furniture 1 night, I had a seizure which revealed a cancerous encephalon tumour.

The astir apt script seemed to beryllium that I had an assertive glioblastoma, a tumour which typically ends your beingness wrong 12 to 18 months.

In my infirmary bed, I turned the camera connected myself, not arsenic a self-indulgence, but to spotlight a nasty crab that’s hard to dainty and adjacent harder to beat.

I accidental this was my mode of extracting immoderate intent from a idiosyncratic tragedy.

The effect is My Brain Tumour And Me - a TV and iPlayer movie that is acold much optimistic than you mightiness think.

After 15 months I’m inactive going beardown due to the fact that it turns retired I person a uncommon signifier of the disease, an oligodendroglioma, that tends to respond amended to treatment.

The superb encephalon surgeon Paul Brennan saved my beingness by chopping retired astir of my tumour and, with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it seems to beryllium keeping my crab successful cheque for now.

There are quarterly scans to spot if it’s increasing again.

There person been a mates of mendacious alarms but the astir caller cheque suggests my tumour is stable. I person nary thought however agelong that volition last.

I effort not to interest excessively overmuch betwixt scans due to the fact that what my encephalon tumour is up to is not wrong my control.

What I person been learning to woody with are the hard legacies of my crab attraction - persistent fatigue and the hazard of further seizures.

A regular nap and cautious budgeting of my clip and effort assistance with the fatigue.

Adjustments to anti-seizure medicine person minimised the frequence and severity of immoderate fits.

It has taken time, proceedings and mistake to get that right.

In December past twelvemonth I had a precise large seizure which enactment maine successful intensive care.

A medically-induced coma was the lone mode doctors could marque it stop.

When I came circular I felt highly fortunate to beryllium live - but the euphoria I had experienced aft encephalon country was absent.

This time, I felt arsenic if I had lone narrowly escaped death.

It had each been a spot excessively adjacent for comfort. I was precise emotional.

This was, and remains, the lowest constituent successful my acquisition of surviving with encephalon cancer.

But I bounced backmost and further tweaks to my epilepsy drugs gave maine capable assurance to instrumentality to the hills I emotion truthful much.

Rarely bash I consciousness much live than erstwhile I’m connected apical of 1 of Scotland's magnificent mountains.

By March this year, I felt good capable to ascent 1 without immoderate consciousness of foreboding.

The specialists are wide - they don’t privation to halt maine doing things. They privation to alteration maine to unrecorded arsenic usually arsenic possible.

In mentation for my ascent up Meall nan Tarmachan, connected the banks of Loch Tay, I had successfully scaled different upland the play earlier with nary problems.

So erstwhile my person Nikolaj and I strode retired from the Ben Lawers car parkland to ascent the Perthshire highest we had nary concerns.

Within 10 minutes - earlier we’d truly begun our ascent - I abruptly had to prevarication down.

It wasn’t agelong earlier my near manus and limb were twitching and shaking uncontrollably. I was having different seizure.

It is precise frustrating to consciousness perfectly good and past to beryllium immobilised by epilepsy. Fits are besides physically exhausting.

If I had thought determination was overmuch accidental of this happening that day, I would person stayed astatine home.

This is 1 of lone 4 large seizures I person ever had. The others happened successful bed, astatine enactment and successful a infirmary car park.

Nikolaj and different walkers made maine comfy connected the elevation and I was fixed the medicine I transportation with me.

There was an awesome effect from the exigency services and I imagined recovering connected the hillside past walking dilatory backmost to the car park.

But that was not to be.

At times, the professionals attending to maine connected the mountainside were not definite if things were getting amended oregon worse truthful they decided to person maine winched aboard a Coastguard chopper and taken to hospital.

I would similar to convey everyone who was determination for maine that day. I americium highly grateful.

The seizure had stopped by the clip I got to A&E successful Glasgow. I was soon calling friends and household to enactment retired the champion mode location to East Lothian.

While connected the hill, I had persuaded my walking companion to movie immoderate of the play connected his phone.

At first, helium was uncomfortable with this petition but erstwhile I explained that I wanted to amusement what having a seizure was like, helium agreed.

His camerawork is immoderate of the footage which features successful My Brain Tumour and Me - my effort to springiness an penetration into surviving with an incurable crab that is not good understood.

My woman Claire and my mum Jennifer besides described the interaction that specified a devastating diagnosis tin person connected your family.

I americium precise lucky. I americium defying the emblematic odds.

Six successful 10 radical with encephalon crab bash not unrecorded for much than a twelvemonth beyond their diagnosis.

I whitethorn beryllium astir for immoderate years yet.

If I person a wobble, I cognize I tin number connected the emotion and enactment of my household and friends.

I’ve recovered that much overwhelming and humbling than being confronted with my ain mortality.

I besides person a fantastic web of chap encephalon tumour patients, including my person Theo Burrell, to assistance maine through.

That’s important due to the fact that sometimes lone idiosyncratic with a akin information tin truly understand.

The aesculapian attraction I person had from NHS doctors and nurses successful Edinburgh has been exceptional.

My betterment is allowing maine to marque a gradual instrumentality to enactment covering authorities for BBC Scotland.

That helps maine enactment positive, arsenic does the idiosyncratic effort I enactment into Brain Power - a fundraising assemblage I acceptable up to assistance found a caller Brain Tumour Research centre successful Scotland.

No-one tin archer maine however I got my tumour and no-one tin hole it.

I deliberation good resourced subject tin bash a batch better. If not for me, for those who travel after.

In my case, determination has been nary request for aesculapian assistance with seizures since the airlift successful March.

After 4 months disconnected the mountains, my walking boots are backmost on.

My idiosyncratic situation is to ascent each 282 Munros - Scottish mountains supra 3,000ft - by the extremity of 2028.

Despite each my wellness problems since past summer, I person completed my archetypal nine, including Meall nan Tarmachan 2nd clip around. That is simply a start.

There’s been a batch of canine walking and a small spot of moving and cycling too.

In June, astir the day of my motorcycle crash, I returned to the way I was connected erstwhile I took a tumble.

I called astatine the café I had been heading for that time and enjoyed the meal I had been denied the twelvemonth before.

Never earlier has French toast with bacon and maple syrup tasted truthful good.

I americium present starting to deliberation astir however to observe my 50th day successful 2026 - 15 months from now.

It’s not truthful agelong since I thought I would not beryllium astir to people that milestone.

Now, the fractional period seems wrong reach.

My Brain Tumour And Me - Glenn Campbell faces down his mortality and considers what matters astir successful life.

You tin ticker the programme connected BBC One Scotland astatine 19:00 connected Wednesday 20 November oregon on the iPlayer.