Woman’s agony as her father and uncle die four days apart after ‘one in a million’ diagnosis

Stacey Pollard, 42, was forced to say goodbye to her beloved relatives in the same week earlier this year after they both died from aggressive brain tumours

Brothers Dave, Geoff, and Pete Pollard in summer 2021 (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)

A woman has shared her devastation after losing her father and uncle to the same type of brain tumour just four days apart.

In January 2022 Stacey Pollard, 42, was forced to say goodbye to her father, Geoff Pollard, and her uncle, Pete Pollard, four days apart, after they both died from glioblastoma (GBM). The brothers were told the chance of them both being diagnosed with a GBM was one in a million.

Stacey, who works in Asda’s café, Estover, is taking part in Brain Tumour Research’s 100 Squats or Star Jumps a Day in November, a fundraising challenge that aims to find a cure for the disease.

She said: “Anything I can do to prevent another family from going through the same thing is completely worth my time and effort.”

Geoff, the second youngest of four siblings, from Horrabridge, West Devon, started experiencing blackouts in April 2021, months after he was given the all-clear following treatment for prostate cancer. A scan at Derriford Hospital confirmed the father-of-two had a brain tumour.

Stacey said: “We were told without treatment he would have three months. The brain tumour wasn’t related to his prostate cancer diagnosis, doctors said it was ‘one of those things’.

“We were all devastated, one minute he was okay and the next we were faced with a terminal diagnosis.”

Weeks later Pete, from Plymouth but living in France at the time, was also diagnosed.

Stacey, added: “We couldn’t believe what was happening when my uncle told us he had the same tumour as my dad.

“They were both concerned the tumour could be genetic and asked if me, my sister, and Pete’s daughter, Samantha, might need testing, but the healthcare team concluded it was a coincidence.

“Dad and uncle Pete had very different experiences with the disease. To look and be around dad you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong with him, right up until he died.

“Uncle Pete lost mobility on one side of his body, his cognition made him appear confused as if he suffered a stroke.”

Geoff Pollard visiting his brother, Pete in France 2012 (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)

Doctors said they were not aware of hereditary factors in the double diagnosis. However, further research to determine the cause of GBMs is desperately needed.

One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour. They kill more men under the age of 70 than prostate cancer, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours.

Geoff underwent an operation to remove the mass, but chemotherapy proved ineffective due to the aggressive nature of the tumour.

He went into hospital in December 2021 and never made it home. He died on 14 January 2022, aged 64.

Pete died four days later at a hospital close to his home in France, aged 69.

In memory of Geoff and Pete, Stacey will complete a combination of 100 squats and star jumps each day in November to raise awareness and fundraise for Brain Tumour Research.

Geoff Pollard before his death (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)

She said: “This disease is horrendous and seeing what my dad and uncle went through shows how the same type of tumour can impact people differently.

“We need to understand all types of tumours to stop this from happening which is why I will continue to campaign to find a cure.”

Dr Karen Noble, director of research, policy, and innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age.

“To have these two diagnoses in the same family is an extremely rare occurrence, less than a one in a million chance.

“If we are to change the stark facts around survival of this disease, then we simply must invest more into discovery science – the route to a cure.”