'My illness baffled doctors - they gave 12 months to live'
A man who thought he had caught the flu found out his fatigue was actually caused by a brain tumour - and was told he had just 12 months left. Kieran Shingler, 26, began experiencing headaches, a sore throat and runny nose on Bonfire Night in 2022, initially thinking it was flu or Covid-19.
He took a Covid-19 test, which returned negative, so he and his partner, Abbie Henstock, 26, dismissed his symptoms as seasonal flu. However, as the weeks passed, Kieran, an HGV driver, began feeling increasingly unwell and could not keep his meals down.
His doctor advised him to visit Warrington Hospital, Cheshire, where they first thought Kieran might have meningitis, but a CT scan uncovered a mass in his brain. Kieran was subsequently moved to the Walton Centre, Liverpool, where he underwent four procedures, including a biopsy - which showed he had a grade three astrocytoma, an aggressive cancerous growth.
Kieran then received radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, which began reducing the tumour, but his latest scan revealed it had begun expanding once more.
Kieran, from Warrington, said: "When I was diagnosed with a brain tumour, I was scared, angry and always questioned why. I couldn't have got through the past couple of years without the support of my friends and family but especially my mum and Abbie.
"They always made sure to put me before themselves and I will always be so grateful. Abbie especially has stuck by my side and remained strong for me as I lost my mum last year. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for."
Kieran had been battling flu-like symptoms - including general fatigue, headaches, a congested nose and a painful throat. Following a negative Covid-19 test, the pair attributed Kieran's illness to flu, but his condition continued to deteriorate.
Abbie, a communications officer from Warrington, said: "Kieran just wasn't getting any better; he couldn't keep food down, and he was getting excruciating headaches. He was so fit, he was doing a triathlon, working out, we just knew something wasn't right - this wasn't Kieran."
On November 21, Kieran's mum, Lisa, who passed away last year, aged 52, contacted the doctor, who advised that he attend Warrington Hospital. There he underwent a CT scan, which revealed a mass on the brain, and was rushed by ambulance to the Walton Centre, Liverpool.
Abbie said: "Kieran had an MRI scan and they told us that the tumour was blocking fluid from going to his spine. They said he would need an emergency endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) - a procedure used to treat hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain's ventricle."
The operation proved successful and Kieran began to feel an improvement in his condition. He was subsequently taken for a craniotomy to reduce the tumour and obtain a biopsy.
Following this procedure, Kieran now experiences short-term memory loss, one of the consequences of this invasive operation. While awaiting the biopsy results, Kieran developed a fever and began screaming in excruciating pain. Medical staff revealed the ETV had failed, and he was readmitted to the Walton Centre for surgery to install an external shunt - a medical device that redirects fluid from one part of the body to another.
On December 29, 2022, just one hour before Kieran was due to undergo surgery for a permanent shunt installation, his family received the devastating news that he had a grade three astrocytoma - a rapidly-growing cancerous tumour.
Abbie said: "Until this point, they hadn't told us the results of the biopsy as it was near Christmas. But on December 29, 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."
On January 5, 2023, Kieran had a consultation with an oncologist at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Liverpool. He was informed he would require 30 sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which concluded in February 2023, with MRI and CT scans revealing the tumour was reducing in size. Kieran took a month's break from treatment to recover before he was scheduled to undergo six additional cycles of higher-dose chemotherapy.
However, in July 2023, medics informed him the treatment had ceased to be effective and his tumour was expanding once more. Abbie explained: "When we found out that the tumour was starting to grow again, they put Kieran on another dose of chemotherapy called lomustine. The scans showed that the chemotherapy was working and the tumour started to shrink again."
In November 2023, Kieran was forced to halt treatment due to signs of liver damage. Since the liver has the ability to heal itself, he simply required a break from treatment, and each scan he attended revealed the tumour was continuing to reduce in size.
Abbie said: "At every three-monthly scan we attended, we were told that his tumour was shrinking and shrinking. It had started at 5.5cm and the smallest it got to was 0.35cm with 19 months of no treatment! But at his most recent scan in June 2025, we were told his tumour had started to grow again."
The pair established the online fundraising page Kieran's Krew - originally to collect money for brain tumour charities - but it has developed into something far greater.
Kieran, alongside his family and friends, has collected more than £52k for various brain tumour charities, including the Brain Tumour Charity, and to fund different therapies at home, such as an oxygen machine and red light.
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