A dad was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour after hallucinating bubbles in the floor – and planned his wedding in a month after being given a year to live. David Phillips, 41, started suffering from intermittent headaches and thought the floor had “bubbled” up while at work as a process operator.
His now wife, Kirby Phillips, 38, fought for David to get a doctor’s appointment and he was sent to the emergency medical unit at the University Hospital Wales. After a CT scan, and an MRI the dad-of-two was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma – and told he would need chemotherapy, radiotherapy and brain surgery whilst awake.
The couple decided to plan their wedding in just one month and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. The family are now fundraising for a private treatment to help prolong David’s life – after not wanting to accept the year to 14 month prognosis.Kirby, an occupational health administrator, from Barry, South Wales, said: “Whilst David was at work, he began to see bubbles in the linoleum flooring.
“He said it looked like the floor bubbled a bit. However, when he pressed on them nothing was there and after touching what he believed to be bubbles he felt a weakness in his hand and arm.When we got the diagnosis and prognosis we weren’t going to accept what we’d been told.We’ve got to keep trying and trying.We won’t stop and give up.”
In August 2024, David started experiencing intermittent headaches which would last between 30 seconds to two minutes. He also struggled to find his words and verbalise them along with experiencing visual disturbances.
Kirby pushed to get David a doctors appointment and he was then referred to hospital that same day. There he underwent a CT scan and blood tests which revealed a mass on his brain – doctors suspected to be a tumour.
An MRI scan confirmed his diagnosis and two weeks after he initially started experiencing symptoms, David was told he had a grade 4 glioblastoma on August 21, 2024. The doctors gave David a prognosis of 12 to 14 months with treatment and only three months without.
He was told he would need an awake craniotomy – to remove as much of the tumour as they could – followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Kirby said: “Time stopped and it was very fuzzy.We knew he wasn’t well but you never expect something like that is going to be the problem.We were just heartbroken.”
Before his cancer diagnosis, David and Kirby had held off the idea of marriage to help save for a mortgage – despite being together for 18 years and engaged for eight. But they decided to tie the knot in a ceremony surrounded by 20 of their closest family including their children – Madison, 20, and Mila-Rose, 11.
Kirby said: “Whilst this was going on, David and I were just not going to accept that that is it. We have a young family and we just did not want to give up and accept that that is it.One of the first things he said was ‘I want to marry you’.It was something happy and lovely to focus on. It was a lovely distraction.”
On September 4, 2024, David underwent a successful craniotomy to remove as much of the tumour possible. Less than a month later on, October 19, 2024, David and Kirkby tied the knot in a special ceremony at their local registry office.
Kirby said: “It was a small, intimate day but it was just gorgeous and perfect.”
David underwent six weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to extend his life. He is now undergoing a private treatment called modulated electro-hyperthermia – which uses heat to destroy cancerous cells – costing the family £3,000-a-month.
They are now fundraising to fund the treatment – and have received over £13,000 from strangers. David has also been accepted onto an NHS clinical trial and will have another operation to remove as much of the tumour as possible before implanting a small medical device.
A drug will then be injected directly into the tumour weekly to help repair DNA damage in the cells. K irby said: “David and I have never asked anyone for anything, we are very independent people. We work hard and pride ourselves on doing things ourselves.
“We can’t believe everybody’s kindness and generosity. It is a testament to how much people think of David and want him to get better. I am completely blown away. If someone gets some sort of help from the awareness – if they are experiencing those symptoms that they’ll do something about it.
“If one person can be helped that would be amazing.”
Support the family here – https://www.gofundme.com/f/davids-hyperthermia-treatment-in-london?cdn-cache=0