Tyler Morton, a 21-year-old artist from Bedford, died just weeks after being told he had an ear infection, his sister has revealed. The initial diagnosis came after he complained of an earache in January, followed by numbness on the left side of his face and difficulty walking. He was sent home with antibiotics.
Rapid Deterioration
The antibiotics had no effect, and Tyler's condition worsened quickly. He began vomiting and lost function on the entire left side of his body. A CT scan later showed a lesion on his brain, and a biopsy at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge confirmed grade 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with no known cure. He died on March 25.
His sister, Ella Morton, 19, a mechanic, described the ordeal: “Tyler had a CT scan, but it didn't show anything untoward. He was told he had vertigo and given anti-sickness medication, but it didn't help at all. I took him back to the hospital; when we arrived, he had two seizures. He was physically disabled by this point and could barely talk.”
Diagnosis and Final Days
Ella continued: “Five days later, Tyler had a CT scan, which revealed a lesion on his brain. A week later, Tyler had a follow-up scan at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. The following day, he had a biopsy; a week later, we were told Tyler had a grade 4 glioblastoma. Three weeks earlier, he was walking and talking, and now he couldn't do anything himself. He was just a body at that point. Tyler was discharged from hospital to basically pass away at home.”
Doctors told Tyler he was too ill for treatment as his body would not have coped. Around 3,200 people in the UK are diagnosed with glioblastoma annually, with only a third surviving beyond 12 months. The average survival is 12 to 18 months.
Family's Grief and Advocacy
Ella said: “Everything happened so quickly and he deteriorated so fast. Tyler was an amazing older brother. He was funny and kind – the sort of brother I went to for anything. We both lived with our nan and we were inseparable. I was distraught nothing could be done for him. I knew you could get cancer everywhere in the body, but I didn't realise how badly it affects you if it's in the brain. There are very limited treatment options compared to other cancers. I was so angry and upset that we hadn't found out he had a brain tumour sooner. I definitely think a lot more could have been done for him. We were told Tyler couldn't have any treatment because his body wouldn't have been able to handle it. If they had found it sooner, he probably would have had the chance to have chemotherapy. At least that would have felt like we tried. More government funding for research is vital if we are to find a cure for brain tumours. What happened to Tyler was such a traumatising experience and I don't want anyone else to go through that.”
Fundraising and Awareness
Ella is now working with Brain Tumour Research during Glioblastoma Awareness Week (July 13-19). She completed the charity's 200k in May Your Way challenge, raising over £1,300 for research. The charity notes that brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just 1% of national cancer research spending has gone to brain tumours.
Dr Karen Noble, director of research and policy at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Tyler's story reflects the devastating reality faced by so many families across the UK. We are calling on the Government to increase the national investment in research into brain tumours, including glioblastoma. We need to also see an increase in the number of clinical trials, and access to them, in the UK, and we want to end inequalities in access to whole genome sequencing that could inform access to trials and emerging treatments.”
