A father who went to the dentist with pins and needles in his mouth was later diagnosed with a fast-growing brain tumour and given 12 to 18 months to live. Jamie Kehoe, 31, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, initially thought the numbness was a dental problem, but his dentist could not find anything wrong.
The former marketing manager soon began stumbling, dropping his keys and struggling with his balance. His wife, Hannah, urged him to see a doctor after noticing he was repeatedly tripping over their dog.
GP referral and diagnosis
Jamie said: "I remember it was a very distinct pins and needles sensation that I initially thought was a dental problem. Obviously, the dentist found nothing. It was only when I started to stumble out of the shower and started to drop my keys that my wife really pushed for me to see a doctor."
His GP became concerned after examining him and referred him straight to Salford Royal Hospital in 2024, where a scan revealed a mass on his brain stem. A biopsy later confirmed a grade-four glioblastoma.
Jamie said: "The initial assessment with the GP didn’t leave much room for guessing. Even though the next step was a scan it was quite clear something was amiss."
He said the surgeon who broke the news later performed his biopsy. Jamie said: "It all went over my head, and I remember the overwhelming feeling I had was that everything had closed in - like those holidays you always planned for the future were now a thing of the past."
Treatment and family milestones
He was given an initial prognosis of around 12 to 18 months with treatment. His tumour was linked to a very rare genetic mutation and its position on the brain stem meant it could not be surgically removed.
Jamie underwent six weeks of radiotherapy at The Christie in Manchester. He said: "The radiotherapy has taken parts of my vision and my taste. You wake up with 20 per cent and go down from there. My cancer location being in the brain stem means it's quite physical - simple things like getting showered or going upstairs are 200 per cent harder."
Following the diagnosis, Jamie and Hannah brought their wedding forward and married in November 2024 before honeymooning in Cornwall that winter. He later joined a trial of a new cancer drug, which he took from March 2025 until August this year.
Poetry and exhibition
The first radiotherapy shrank the tumour and for around eight months Jamie was able to return to a more normal life. The couple underwent IVF and welcomed son Elliot, now six months old. But Jamie's symptoms returned around the time Elliot was born and a scan showed the tumour had grown again.
He underwent a second course of radiotherapy, which finished in May. Jamie said: "Everything I've done since the diagnosis is stuff I wanted to do. I'm not fighting my fate. I'm just refusing to sit around pretending it'll all be fine. Bringing the wedding forward wasn't romantic, it was a deadline."
Jamie, who now struggles with his speech, has turned to poetry to document life with terminal brain cancer. His debut collection, I Used to Write Stories, explores the everyday realities of his illness, with proceeds going towards brain tumour research.
Jamie said: "I wanted to do two things. First, show cancer for what it is: sloppy and cruel. Nobody tells you how undignified it is. Second, show how fragile life is, and that it doesn't end when you're told the worst possible news. There's texture left, if you choose to embrace it, however hard things get. Poetry suited that. It's quick, efficient and powerful, and when you're borrowing time, you don't waste it."
Jamie will exhibit his poetry at Stretford's Unofficial Museum on October 17 and 18.
