Mum had gathered all the family and broke the news to us. I would have preferred something (anything) else rather than hearing that dad had a brain tumour. After that I retreated into myself and did not want to talk to anyone – not even to my mum. The only person I would talk to was my dad, who was the one in the most pain about it!

"One thing that made me feel better"

was sitting with my dog Othello, because even though he probably didn’t understand me he just sat there and listened and would always make me laugh when he licked the tears off my face. I wish my friends had been nicer and more compassionate at the time. And that's when I wanted to be alone they could have left me.

The scariest moment was when mum was told that dad would only have six months to live, and when he was in the operation. The whole journey was scary, even now when dad is healed, because it has been known to happen that brain tumours come back even more aggressive than before.

"I have lost some of my hope and happiness"

because of this experience, but I’ve gained more love in my family bond. Even though you have the occasional quarrels between family members our bond is so strong it would be hard to break it.

To someone who has just been diagnosed or found out someone in their family has cancer, I would say: have hope, don’t despair. If it helps find a favourite place, somewhere calm and serene, and sit there. Maybe a place where the sun shines, because it makes you calm and sleepy and you forget all your worries. This is a place where you can ignore the world and be yourself for just 5 –10 minutes.