A sudden seizure while in the gym led to the devastating death of a young man, whose family has now donated the £186,000 raised for his treatment to charity.
Isaac Wilton was just 20 when he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – an aggressive, fast-growing brain and spinal cord tumour.
Despite surgery to debulk the tumour, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and a huge crowdfunding effort to raise money for experimental treatment in Germany, he died 18 months later.
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Now, his family has decided to use the funds raised for the proposed immunotherapy treatment, which Isaac had been too weak to travel for, to support Brain Tumour Research’s work in Nottingham on next-generation genome sequencing, combined with advanced brain imaging and AI.
The work aims to not only help predict the earliest signs of glioblastoma recurrence but also identify personalised treatments for patients, as reported by Need To Know.
Isaac’s mum, Jo, said: “We are incredibly proud to be able to continue Isaac’s legacy by establishing the fundraising group, Team Isaac Forever, and sponsoring a PhD researcher in his name at the Nottingham Centre of Excellence.
“We know how proud he would be looking down on us and seeing that we are continuing his mission.”
Isaac, from Leicester, had spoken out before his death to help raise awareness for other young people facing cancer.
He previously said: “At my age, you hear stories about diseases like this, but you don’t expect them to become part of your life.
“You think it’s almost mythical, something that happens to other people. When you’re young, healthy, and feeling fine, it’s hard to imagine that one day everything could change so drastically.
“For me, it all started on a normal, typical day.
“I’ve always loved sports and keeping fit, so in April 2024, I went to the gym feeling perfectly fine.
“Out of the blue, during my workout, I experienced a seizure.
“It was terrifying, I didn’t know what was happening.”
After surgery to debulk the tumour the following month, he felt “an enormous sense of relief” – but a few weeks later, biopsy results came back which revealed the severity of the diagnosis: a grade four glioblastoma, with an average survival rate of just 12-18 months, leaving the young man and his family “devastated”.
The family pulled together to raise an incredible £190,000 through local events and a JustGiving page, but Isaac was sadly too poorly to travel for the treatment before he passed away.
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