“It’s no exaggeration to say The Charity’s counselling service saved my life.”

Celebrating three years of our free counselling service

A brain tumour diagnosis can turn your life upside down. 91% of people say it affected their mental health, yet only 45% had access to a counselling service.

Thanks to your support, we launched our free counselling service in 2022. Three years on, we’ve provided nearly 2,000 people with counselling and delivered more than 13,000 sessions. 

The impact is clear: 99% rated their experience as good or very good, and 81% said it made a complete or significant difference to their emotional well-being and ability to cope. 

Carole’s story

Learning she had an incurable brain tumour, together with the pain she lived with on a daily basis, drove Carole, from North Wales, to despair. She credits our free counselling service with helping her get her life back on track.  

Carole, 67, was told she had a brain tumour – a brain stem glioma – in March 2024, but had been struggling with debilitating symptoms for years before, since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

A devastating diagnosis

“The headaches I experienced were terrible, the worst pain I could imagine. I’d been really active before, living life to the full, regularly looking after my little granddaughter, but suddenly I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t know how to stop the pain.” 

A visit to her GP, who made a referral to a maxillofacial consultant, marked the first of a number of medical appointments – including an MRI scan – that failed to find the cause of her symptoms. During this time, it was suggested that Carole might be suffering from stress or depression. Eventually, after a nine month wait for an appointment, a specialist physio team assessed Carole. They thought she may have Multiple Sclerosis, but immediately organised another MRI, which led to her tumour being discovered. 

Carole said: “I found out on a phone call. The medic who called me was very blunt. He said: ‘You’ve got a brain tumour. Nothing can be done about it, and eventually it will kill you.’ Needless to say, it was incredibly hard to cope with – all the more so because the call came on my daughter’s birthday, and I was spending the day at her house.” 

Carole was told that as the tumour was in her brain stem, it was too dangerous to do anything. Even a biopsy would be too much of a risk. Living with the uncertainty, not to mention considerable pain, was very difficult to cope with.

Carole said: “I’m aware of my tumour all the time – every minute of every day. Now, my pain is intermittent, and therefore manageable, but I still have numbness in my face and down my right side, as well as a burning sensation. My balance is affected – I fall over regularly. Things were looking very dark for me. I don’t mind admitting, I was even considering how best to end my life, if it could be done without causing my family too much pain. My mother had died not long before my diagnosis, and she suffered a very long decline. I kept thinking, I can’t put my family through that.” 

A beacon of hope

Happily, while the counselling sessions improved Carole’s mental outlook, things started to become clearer medically, too. Carole’s tumour is being well monitored and although pain still troubles her – flashing through her head like an “electric shock” – it’s at least under control. She’s delighted to have recently gained back her driving licence, which gives her crucial independence.  And, having feared they had shared their last Christmas together, she and her husband were able to go on a holiday last autumn – a Mediterranean cruise they thought they wouldn’t be able to experience. 

Is counselling right for you?

Initially sceptical about reaching out, Carole cites that getting in touch with our free counselling service is one of the best things she’s ever done.

Before this happened to me, I never really believed in counselling. I dismissed it as just for others, not me, thinking I could sort out my own problems.

“My counsellor helped me find my inner strength, to call on my resolve and find a way through the darkest days. I don’t know how she did it. For anyone else in the same position, thinking you just need to talk to someone – please reach out like I did.”