From triathlons to MRI scans
After finishing a full shift on the road, Kieran trained for triathlons and spent his weekends competing. But when he started to get too tired for that, his partner Abbie Henstock, was worried. They thought he might have the flu or Covid, but tests were negative and his symptoms got worse.
The couple, from Great Sankey near Warrington in Cheshire, met when they were 14, and they’ve been together ever since.
Abbie said: “We thought it was Covid to begin with because he had flu-like symptoms and was just wiped out. I remember when they started because it was bonfire night in 2022. Then, towards the end of November, he couldn’t keep any food down.
“His GP said to go to A&E straight away, so we went to Warrington Hospital. Initially, they thought it was meningitis. Later, we wished it was. But an emergency scan showed he had a mass on his brain.”
Christmas on the ward
Kieran was rushed to The Walton Centre in Liverpool by ambulance. There, he had four major brain surgeries within a month – including on Christmas Day.
The first procedure, called an EVT, was to help drain away fluid because the tumour was blocking it, causing headaches and blurred vision. Kieran felt fine once he’d come round from the general anaesthetic. But a follow-up scan showed the mass was growing.
A week later he had a craniotomy to debulk the tumour and take a biopsy. This would establish what type of tumour he was dealing with. Surgery took five hours and successfully removed almost half the tumour. It left Kieran with a scar across the top of his head, but also short-term memory loss, which was a shock.
Abbie learnt to use different tools to support him. She explained: “If he does something, like has his lunch, 10 mins later, he won’t remember what he ate. But a couple of hours later, if I prompt him to visualise what we got out of the fridge, or what plate he used, he might remember.
“We use all sort of tools like I always text him plans for the day and we use a digital diary that has reminder alerts an hour before. So he’s a lot better.”
Back at home four weeks later, and on Christmas Eve, Kieran had a fever and began screaming from intense pain. The EVT had failed. He was admitted to The Walton again for emergency surgery to fit an external shunt on Christmas morning.
Abbie remembers: “He was nil by mouth on Christmas morning. It was just horrible. He went down at 11 and me and his mum visited him again that night. He wasn’t allowed to move for two days and needed to be next to an IV bag attached to a stand.
“Until this point, they hadn’t told us the results of the biopsy as it was near Christmas. But on 29 December, we found out it was cancer. A fast-growing tumour, but they couldn’t be certain what grade. An hour later, he went down for surgery to fit a permanent shunt.
“It was all a blur. I remember being put in touch with Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Then Kieran was allowed home at 8pm on New Year’s Eve. We all just went to bed. There was nothing to celebrate.”
Where to turn for support with a brain tumour diagnosis?
Kieran could no longer work and had his driving licence revoked, losing his independence and identity.
He first met his oncologist on 5 January and was told he had a grade 3 astrocytoma. But not all the cells could be given a World Health Organisation classification, so the plan was to treat it as if it was a glioblastoma – the most aggressive type.
“We entered a whole new world,” said Abbie, “travelling down the M62 every weekday for 30 rounds of temozolomide chemotherapy and radiotherapy, then we had weekends off. It was a really dark time. Brutal. Kieran was very sick and depressed – we were all low.
“But we have such a solid support system around us which kept us going. When I say it out loud, this doesn’t sound like us. Later, he had oral chemotherapy at home, which was so much better as he could take it in the space of his own home.”
Abbie had found The Brain Tumour Charity online the day after Kieran had his scan results, and she and Kieran’s mum, Lisa, kept researching the condition, looking for potential new treatments. They also joined the Facebook support groups and took solace from hearing about different people’s experiences. They want to give hope to others by sharing their story.
A rollercoaster
In March 2023, there was good news. The tumour had shrunk. Kieran had a month off treatment to rest then resumed a course of temozolomide that was due to last six cycles. But by July, it had stopped working. The tumour was growing again.
The family took time off work to come to terms with another awful ‘dip’ in the rollercoaster of Kieran’s diagnosis. Kieran was prescribed a different chemotherapy called Lomustine, which crosses the blood brain barrier, in September 2023. Scans showed it was working and the tumour had shrunk.
But after three cycles, he had to stop treatment because there was evidence of liver damage. As the liver can repair itself, Kieran and Abbie hoped he time off from treatment would help. As this was over Christmas, they decided to just enjoy their time together.
Fitter and stronger
They explored alternative therapies like red light therapy, a hyperbaric chamber, a healthy diet and slowly getting back to exercise with a specialist personal trainer.
Abbie, who works in communications at a hospital in Wigan, said: “Kie loved his PT sessions. His mood lifted, his memory improved, he was independent of me and his mum, and it all helped with the stress he’d been under.
“At every three-monthly scan we attended, his tumour was shrinking and shrinking. It had started at 5.5cm and the smallest it got to was 0.35cm. But at his most recent scan, in June 2025, his tumour had started to grow again. Kieran had been off any NHS treatment for 19 months at that point, so he has now gone back onto Lomustine.”
Kieran also lost his beloved mum to lung cancer in August 2024. But despite what he’s been through, Kieran has gone back to doing some of the sports he loves – amazing people with his determination.
He’s climbed several mountains, including Snowdon, travelled abroad three times, trained in the gym weekly, run two 5ks, moved into his first house, and even managed to convince his mum to get a dog!
The couple set up the online fundraising page Kieran’s Krew – which has raised more than £52,000 for brain tumour charities – but it has evolved into much more. Now, they use the platform to share his journey, connect with other people going through a brain tumour diagnosis and to share the good and the bad.
We have made so many memories together. We’ve been together since we were 14 and I would never think of leaving him. Seeing the smile on his face, while he’s dealing with this, it’s just changed my perspective on life. You’ve just got to have that hope. He’s proven that.
Abbie
“We may not be able to have our own children, but we have our dog and he’s our baby. There’s still life to live. We don’t tend to talk about prognosis, we just take every opportunity to make the most of things – whether that’s playing darts or going to the cinema during the week or travelling down to one of our favourite places – St. Ives.”
Kieran, who was due to start a third cycle of chemo at the time of writing, said: “Abbie means everything to me. She’s helped me more than I could ever imagine with me going through my diagnosis and more recently losing my mum.
“She kindly gives up her time to take me to appointments and my rehabilitation classes which are an hour’s drive away every week. We’ve had a lot of different experiences and emotions throughout the years of my diagnosis, and she’s remained strong for me while dealing with losses in her own family.
“I struggle with my memory, so Abbie is like another brain for me to remind me of things I need to do and things we have done. I also wanted to thank my mum who passed away in August last year. She and Abbie helped me so much. They always made sure to put me before themselves and I will always be so grateful.”
BBC News and other news outlets have also covered Kieran and Abbie’s story.