'Brave' dad initially went to hospital with a headache - now he is fighting for his life

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A 'brave' dad who first went to hospital with a severe headache is now fighting for his life after being told he had an aggressive brain tumour.

Mark Downey, 44, from Bolton, first complained of a headache last September, but knew something wasn't quite right. He went to hospital, before scans quickly revealed he had a grade four glioblastoma, a fast-growing cancerous tumour.

It was a whirlwind that his mum Eileen described as something 'very sudden' that 'turned their lives upside down'. What followed was surgery and months of gruelling chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the dad-of-three. READ MORE: Family's heartbreak after mum told she may only have a few weeks left to live following devastating Good Friday diagnosis After risky operations to remove the tumour, the genetics of the tumour were revealed as IDH wild type unmethylated, which his family say has a poor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

Feeling like they have exhausted options in the UK; with Mark told his life expectancy was between 12 and 14 months now almost seven months ago, his loved ones are hoping to save enough money for him to have alternative treatment overseas which may save his life. "He has been so brave and amazing given the fact that we don't know what's in store for him," Eileen told the M.E.N. "We haven't been given a lot of information or told what to expect when he finishes this course of chemotherapy.