ANTIQUES Roadshow star Theo Burrell has admitted ‘it’s relentless’ as she restarts her cancer treatment.
When she was first diagnosed, the 37-year-old Scot started suffering from crippling headaches and migraines and knew something wasn’t right.
She was in so much pain that she went to hospital and a scan revealed she had a glioblastoma (GBM) – a type of brain tumour that starts as cell growth in the brain or spine.
She was told she had three months to live at Christmas in 2021, but after surgery, chemo and radiotherapy she remained stable.
But things took a turn for the worse in the autumn and In October, she shared the heartbreaking news that her tumour had begun to grow again.
Again in November she shared a fresh health update that she was feeling “exhausted.”
This Christmas, her condition has worsened and she took to social media to reveal that she still feels “awful.” is “immunocompromised,” and having to take great care not to catch a cold or flu, which could endanger her life.
Over the holiday period she revealed she is about to start another round of treatment. She took to her Instagram page to share a picture of a windswept beach and the words: “It’s been a really nice few days over the festive period, but today is the big day – restarting treatment.
“This afternoon I’m off to The Western General in Edinburgh to collect my Temozolomide tablets, and I begin the first of potentially 12 rounds.
“I know that (unfortunately) I’m in good company, with many, many patients pushing through their treatment plans as I write this. It sucks.
“It’s relentless, it makes you feel awful, and you can’t do a whole bunch of things because you’re immunosuppressed – but there is some comfort in being in it together.
“And I’m very grateful I have this option still open to me.
“So to all of you out there wading through treatment – I’m joining your gang, if you’ll have me?! Let’s show these cancer cells the door!”
Theo specialises in fine furniture and art. She has been an auctioneer with Lyon and Turnbull since 2011 and joined Antiques Roadshow in 2018.
She wrote online on October 2: “It’s with some heartbreak that I can confirm my glioblastoma has started regrowing.
“Although this was always an inevitability, it has been a difficult couple of weeks for me and my family as we deal with the news.”
More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives.
The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment.
Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return.
Brain tumours can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.
They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP.
Source: NHS
