‘Something of Him Left Behind’

need to know

• Tom Chapman was diagnosed with a brain tumor after suffering a seizure two weeks into his honeymoon

• Doctors gave the 31-year-old just five years to live and is now undergoing a clinical trial to try to extend his life

• Tom and his wife Vicki are now planning to start IVF in the hope he can experience fatherhood before his disease worsens

Two weeks after celebrating his honeymoon, a “good health” man has been told he has just five years left to live due to an aggressive brain tumour.

On March 16, professional rugby players Tom Chapman and Vicky Chapman from London, England, had just honeymooned in Sri Lanka when 31-year-old Tom suffered an epileptic seizure at home.

Tom, 31, told British charity Brain Tumor Research: “We were supposed to be married to Vicky, who I had been with for more than ten years, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.”

“I just remember waking up on the floor, dazed and confused by the paramedics around me,” he recalled. “Vicky told me what happened. We were all napping on the couch and our dog started barking, which woke Vicky up. Five seconds later my body went into a seizure, which lasted about seven minutes, and I stopped breathing. Vicky had to perform CPR, which must have been horrific for her.”

When the ambulance arrived, paramedics rushed Tom to University Hospital Lewisham, London, where a CT scan revealed he had a brain tumor “the length and size of a toilet paper tube”.

Doctors initially thought Tom had a grade 2 glioma and scheduled him for surgery.

“The consultant told me that I had probably had the disease since I was a child and that it had mutated. In some ways, that was reassuring because I haven’t had any side effects for 31 years,” he explained.

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However, following surgery to remove the tumor on April 15, pathology results confirmed that Tom had a grade 4 astrocytoma, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor.

“To me, what I’ve heard and what I’ve heard so far are numbers. I know hearing four is worse than hearing two,” he said. “During my appointment, I asked what caused the tumors to develop and what would happen under different treatment options, but I got what seemed like cookie-cutter answers from the medical team. It was frustrating that the doctors didn’t have answers, but I began to understand that it was because they lacked knowledge and because there wasn’t enough spending on brain tumor research. It all had a knock-on effect.”

“My prediction is five years, which is not what you expect to hear when you’re 31, healthy and newly married,” he admits.

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After the operation, Tom received chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea. He also participated in a life-extending clinical trial.

“I want to do everything I can to beat this disease and live as normal a life as possible,” he said.

Tom told the charity that in the meantime, he and Vicki are sharing his journey in the hope of raising awareness and funding for further research into brain tumors and treatment plans.

“The problem is that brain tumor patients often don’t have enough time, which is why investment in research is needed now,” he explains. “Right now, it feels like a one-size-fits-all approach, but patients don’t all start at the same point. I refuse to be defined by averages.”

Vicki told daily mail The couple were excited to start a family after their honeymoon, but Tom’s diagnosis apparently left them “in limbo.” She is preparing to start IVF in January, hoping to make that dream a reality.

She said she believed her husband would be with their future children longer than doctors expected.

“If everything goes well, he gets to be a father and experience that. If everything doesn’t go well, then I’m going to keep something of him,” she continued. “Those who take the view that ‘but you might not make it,’ [I say] No one promises tomorrow. “

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