Charity's service to honour loved ones at cathedral

Marie Curie's annual Lights to Remember service will take place at Newcastle Cathedral tomorrow

- EMILY GRAY

TWO North East families are raising awareness of end of life charity, Marie Curie, ahead of its annual service to remember loved ones.

Marie Curie's Lights to Remember Service will take place tomorrow at Newcastle Cathedral during Grief Awareness Week, which runs until Monday.

David and Vickie Bradford, from Northumberland, will be remembering David's son, Adam, during the service, who died aged just 27 at the Marie Curie Hospice on December 13 2019, from a grade four anaplastic oligodendroglioma brain tumour. Reflecting on that time, David said: "Adam was diagnosed with the rare advanced aggressive brain tumour aged 24 following a seizure at home.

"We just couldn't believe it because Adam was a healthy young man. My mum and Adam's grandmother, Janet Young, died from the same type of brain tumour when she was just 57. It's such a devastating disease. He underwent surgery at the RVI in Newcastle, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy at the Freeman Hospital. Adam had a second operation in December 2018 because the MRI scans revealed the tumour was growing again.

"Following regular scans, appointments with specialist doctors and further appointments with his consultant, we thought things had plateaued as Adam felt well and able to carry on with his albeit limited lifestyle which the tumour had left him with. We carried on with things as best we could as a family, supporting each other.