Ben Cornforth Goes From ‘Hangover’ Scare to Marathon Finish After Brain Cancer Treatment

Overview

• The Nottingham university student, who collapsed with slurred speech and a seizure in February 2023, was taken by ambulance after friends called NHS 111 and a CT scan showed a brain abnormality first thought to be a cyst.
• Two weeks later doctors said the mass was a benign tumour near his language centre, yet more seizures led to a follow-up scan that showed activity and the need for surgery.
• In May 2023 he had an awake craniotomy so surgeons could test his speech while removing tissue, and a later biopsy confirmed stage 4 brain cancer.
• He completed six weeks of radiotherapy with chemotherapy and then about a year of daily chemotherapy tablets after moving his care to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
• Now 24, he is off active treatment, serves on Teenage Cancer Trust’s Youth Advisory Group, and finished the London Marathon raising over £10,000 for the charity.