In September 2022 Jonathan was diagnosed with a high level cervical spinal tumour. Two months later he underwent surgery to remove it. At that time it was believed that it was not anything to be concerned about and he would be out of hospital in a couple of weeks.
 
Following the surgery he was given the devastating news that it was a rare, aggressive tumour most commonly seen in children and young adults: Diffuse Midline Glioma H3K27m Mutation. We subsequently found out that there is no effective treatment and the prognosis is poor. Despite this, we all stayed positive and Jonathan continued trying to embrace life.
 
Research into this particular mutation is minimal. We have been looking for a suitable charity where people can donate in Jonathan’s memory and found a research project which is currently taking place looking into the same type of tumour.
 
This research project is looking into precision patient targeted treatment for this specific mutation. It is being funded by Cancer research U.K., Great Ormond Street and Brain research U.K. We have decided to setup a memory page with Brain Tumour U.K. This is a small charity and we have therefore been able to receive an assurance that any donations will go to this specific research project.
 
Jonathan tried desperately hard to regain his strength in order to fight this terrible disease. His aim was to return to work and live his life again. For about a year we all really thought this was going to be possible.
 
We know that Jonathan would really appreciate any support in donating to this worthy cause to try and find an effective treatment for this very rare mutation so that others may benefit in the future and be able to live long, productive lives.
 
Thank you