Man who couldn’t get doctor’s appointment is raising funds for Milton Keynes charity after brain tumour diagnosis

A man who was unable to get a doctor’s appointment went to a walk-in centre and sent straight to A&E where doctors diagnosed a brain tumour.

Sunir Dudhia, of Milton Keynes, was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma in July last year after suffering extreme fatigue, confusion and slow speech.

The 50-year-old had an MRI scan which revealed an abnormality on the right-hand side of his brain.

He said: “I was transported to Oxford within a few hours. There they did further scans on my brain and my body and told me I had a tumour measuring 6.5cm, and that’s when it hit me; I’d turned 50 and got a brain tumour.”

Sunir underwent surgery to remove his tumour followed by five cycles of chemotherapy after a biopsy revealed it was grade 3. His treatment came to an end four months ago and he is now feeling ‘really good and more energised than before’.

To celebrate he will be joined, on Sunday, by his wife Paroo,11-year-old son Karan and friends for a 5k walk around Willen Lake in aid of MK based charity Brain Tumour Research.

He said: “I think it will be a happy but emotional day because of what I’ve gone through and the support I’ve had from family and friends, which has been absolutely brilliant.”

He added: “The key is for people to recognise the symptoms because I didn’t at all and probably had them about a month, but you should see a specialist straight away if you don’t feel right, including if you have constant headaches or feel dizzy or have low energy or are not able to walk.

“We need more research into brain tumours. I think I was lucky because my tumour was picked up at an early stage and, even though it was grade 3, I’ve been able to go through treatment. Mentally it’s very hard; when I heard grade 3 I immediately thought I was going to die, but the key is to stay positive. I told myself there was nothing else wrong with me and I was going to get through it.

“My last two scans have shown up clear, so I just hope that my next one, which is coming up soon, is clear too. Meanwhile, I’m really looking forward to the Walk of Hope and am trying to raise as much money as I can.”

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really pleased to hear that Sunir is doing and feeling so well after treatment. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet, historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

"At the current rate of spend, it will take 100 years to find a cure; together we can change this. We’re extremely grateful for Sunir’s support and wish him and his family the best of luck with heir walk.”

To support Sunir visit his fundraising page