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A father who had tingling in his face and fingers during his vacation was given only a few months to live.
Robert Armstrong, 58, a marine engineer from Felixstowe, East Suffolk, began feeling “pins and needles” on the right side of his body a few months after injuring his back in January 2023.
But what the father of two thought was a trapped nerve turned out to be a large, inoperable tumor in the middle of his brain.
Within weeks, Rob's symptoms worsened and he began to lose vision, sensation and movement, as well as feeling constantly tired.
Rob underwent a type of radiation therapy in June 2023 known as Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a high-precision tool used to target brain tumors without damaging surrounding cells.
Rob’s tumor “shrank significantly,” but his symptoms persisted and in May 2024 doctors told him they had run out of options.
Despite the devastating news, Rob remained optimistic that they would find another solution, and after seeking a second opinion, he learned of a new treatment that could help him fight his cancer.
Rob's daughter Loti Armstrong, 25, has launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to help pay for the treatment – a type of antibody drug designed to interfere with cancer cells' ability to replicate – which costs £14,000 per session and is administered into a patient's bloodstream every three weeks.
Loti, a manager at a venue in Margate, Kent, told PA Real Life: “It’s really strange to think about who he’s been for most of my life and compare that to the person my dad is now.
“I had the idea, as everyone accidentally does, that I would have many more years to annoy, argue, go on vacation and celebrate with my dad.
“There is nothing certain. Dad has always been a strong and healthy person, he doesn't smoke and he's always doing things, and now that he has this, everything happens so fast.
“It was really unexpected, even within his family because they have no history of cancer.”
Rob was with his wife Alison and an elderly woman she cares for in January 2023, when the woman suddenly fell and Rob intervened to stop her from falling.
“He thought he had sprained something in his back and we were joking about how he would never do a good deed again,” Loti said.
“He had had back pain in the past because his job was quite physical and he would usually just complain, put on Deep Heat and move on.
“But this time it was different, he needed to take some time off.”
When Rob and Alison embarked on a “bucket list” trip to Cuba in March, he began complaining of tingling in his fingers and face.
They went to the doctor on their return to the UK in April, suspecting a pinched nerve, but it was much worse.
At first, doctors thought Rob might have suffered a small stroke, but scans revealed a five-centimetre tumour in the middle of his brain.
“He was diagnosed with a terminal, inoperable brain tumor and given three months to live or six months of treatment,” Loti said.
“It was a really shocking and brief change.”
Loti and her partner Johnny, 23, were in the process of moving from London to Margate and were living with her parents at the time while waiting to sign their lease.
“We saw it in real time and it was obviously horrible,” he said.
Over the next few weeks, Rob's symptoms progressed at an alarming rate as his tumor continued to grow.
Loti noticed that she had difficulty using her right arm and that it would become exhausted after a 20-minute walk.
When Alison tested her peripheral vision by slowly moving an object back and forth, she realized that she could only see out of her right eye if the object was placed directly in front of her.
“It was really strange because he was a larger than life character,” Loti said.
“As a kid, he was this monolithic guy, like the person who knew everything, understood everything, and then having to explain things to him when he forgot them was a really weird culture shock.”
NHS symptoms of a brain tumour
The symptoms of a brain tumor vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected.
Common symptoms include:
- Headaches
- convulsions (fits)
- Persistent feeling of discomfort (nausea), vomiting and drowsiness
- Mental or behavioral changes, such as memory problems or personality changes.
- Progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body.
- Vision or speech problems
Sometimes you may not have any symptoms at first or they may develop very slowly over time.
A biopsy revealed that Rob's brain cancer was not the primary tumor, so doctors ran a series of tests to try to find the original source, but were unable to locate it.
In June 2023, they decided to treat Rob with Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a type of radiation therapy that aims to destroy cancer cells with a very precise and intense dose of radiation.
“It was horrible to see him go through that, it was brutal,” Loti said.
“Normally it is administered once, but he was administered it five times.
“He would just sleep a lot, you would say hello, hug him, and then he would have to go to bed.”
On the day Rob received his results in September, Loti, who had since moved to Margate with her partner, took her mother out for a drink and waited for the doctor to call.
Fortunately, it was good news: the tumor had shrunk significantly.
“We immediately ran home and thought, ‘Oh my God,’” Loti said.
“My father was very emotional when he heard that. I remember he shouted, 'I told you, I knew I wasn't dying.'”
Rob's condition was expected to improve with physical therapy, but sadly there was little change in the months that followed.
Ultimately, Alison decided to leave her job in sales for a travel company and care for her husband full-time.
In May 2024, Loti said they were told that doctors had run out of treatment options and there was nothing they could do.
Not wanting to give up, Rob and Alison decided to seek a “second opinion” and learned about a new type of drug called trastuzumab deruxtecan, which is designed to interfere with the processes that help cancer cells grow.
“It was very distressing for them to hear, but he was still very optimistic and very determined,” Loti said.
“He said, 'No, there are a lot of smart people in the world, something will come up,' and fortunately they got a second opinion.”
Each round of treatment, administered intravenously every three weeks, costs around £14,000.
Loti's brother Stephen, 39, and his wife Jen have offered to pay for the first round of treatment, but they will need to find more funds quickly.
To help, Loti has launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign which has so far raised just under £18,000.
“We are super overwhelmed by the support,” Loti said.
“The day we reached our £10,000 target, my dad’s friends organised a little tea party.
“We appreciate all the donations so far and if you can share our fundraiser with friends, family, colleagues and anyone who will listen, it would be a great help.
“Thanks again, everyone has been more than kind.”
To support Rob, please visit: www.gofundme.com/f/last-chance-cancer-treatment-for-dad.
