A selfless dad-of-two battling an incurable tumour has donated his tears to a pioneering study – to better detect other patients’ brain cancers. Alex Davies, 49, has been told he may have just 12-18 months to live, but in that precious time, the devoted husband to Emma, 46, and dad to Joseph, 17, and Eloise, 15, has vowed to help others fight for life.
So, Alex, from Lostock in Bolton, Greater Manchester, has joined Manchester Cancer Research Centre scientists to see if tear fluid can identify glioblastoma – the most aggressive form of brain tumour. Tears contain biological markers that, early findings suggest, may reveal the presence of tumours before traditional methods can, and if successful, mean a simple, earlier detecting test could be rolled out to GP surgeries.
Alex told The Express: “Over the past two years, I have received amazing care and treatment, but unfortunately, after the most recent scan results, the tumour is continuing to grow, and there are no further treatment options suitable for me.
“I am currently under palliative management at home and very fatigued, but keeping going for now.
“From diagnosis, we always knew this most aggressive form of brain tumour had a really poor prognosis and limited treatment options.
“If by helping with this research it could mean that someone like me can be diagnosed sooner, it offers real hope for the future.”
While wife Emma told us: “At the moment I can’t contemplate how life will be when Alex is no longer with us, but I will be forever proud of how he has managed his time with this condition and the fantastic contribution he has made.
“So, if something as simple as this tear test could be used to bring a diagnosis forward, I think that would improve that awful time for so many others in the future.”
Alex was first diagnosed in 2023 after suffering a string of seizures following a weekend away with Emma. Primary tests were inconclusive, and Alex was initially treated for epilepsy.
But when his symptoms worsened, further scans revealed the heartbreaking truth that he had a brain tumour. First, he underwent surgery and received chemotherapy and radiotherapy at The Christie Hospital, and for a few months, follow-up scans showed no evidence of active cancer.
However, a short time later, tests revealed that the tumour was growing back in an area of Alex’s brain that affects his memory.
Now, the recurrent tumour is sadly no longer responding to treatment, and Alex is receiving palliative care at home, where he is focused on spending time with his family while also making a valuable difference.
Alex, who worked as head of consents and environment planning at Network Rail before his diagnosis, said: “I was relatively fit and had no health conditions when suddenly I collapsed out of the blue after we’d been away for the night in Liverpool to watch the Pet Shop Boys in concert.
“Before I was diagnosed, I didn’t know anything about brain tumours, or how much research was still needed to understand and treat them better.
“It took months to get to my diagnosis, my initial MRI scan didn’t spot the tumour, and at first I was told I had epilepsy.
“My symptoms worsened over a period of about three months, including severe headaches, my speech became affected, as well as my balance, and I was getting confused.
“Then, after a much more severe seizure where I couldn’t even remember my family’s names afterwards, I was sent for a CT scan, which identified a brain tumour. We had no idea what was ahead.
“Whether the delay in diagnosing my brain tumour would have made a difference to the outcome, I don’t know, but if helping with this research could mean that someone like me can be diagnosed sooner, it offers real hope for the future.”
Now Alex is one of 200 patients who have donated tear samples for the study, led by scientists at the University of Manchester.
Thanks to nearly £500,000 in funding from Stand Up To Cancer—a joint fundraising campaign between Cancer Research UK and Channel 4—the project has recently expanded to include larger-scale trials.
Researchers describe the test as a type of “liquid biopsy” – a world-first approach that could pave the way for faster, cheaper, and less invasive brain cancer diagnosis.
Tear fluid contains biological markers that, early findings suggest, may reveal the presence of tumours before traditional methods can.
If successful, the test could be rolled out to GP surgeries, allowing patients to receive a diagnosis much earlier – especially critical for those whose tumours respond to therapy.
Alex said: “We have always had hope, and I do feel lucky to have had the past two years to continue enjoying life and making memories with my family and friends. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Around 12,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year, including around 1,100 in the North West.
Professor Petra Hamerlik, the chair of translational neuro-oncology at The University of Manchester, is leading the project.
Having lost her own father to glioblastoma at a young age, Dr Hamerlik is personally driven to improve outcomes for patients facing the disease.
She said: “Alex’s contribution, and that of others like him, is helping move this research forward in a way that could transform outcomes for future patients.
“Brain tumours cause changes to tear fluid. Unlike the collection of blood or cerebrospinal fluid, tear collection is a non-invasive process.
“But before now, this hasn’t been explored for brain cancer diagnosis. My team is currently developing a tear-protein-based classifier that can differentiate brain cancer patients from healthy volunteers with high levels of accuracy.
“There is a significant unmet need for an affordable and accessible screening triage tool in primary care to help identify patients who present to their GP with non-specific early symptoms of brain tumours.
“Such a tool could reduce diagnostic delays and prevent disease progression. This award will allow us to launch a multi-centre study across the UK to validate the use of tear fluid as a liquid biopsy for early detection of brain cancer.
“If successful, we’ll seek further funding to develop a tool that can be rapidly deployed across health services, ultimately helping patients like Alex receive a timely diagnosis and better outcomes.”
Stand Up To Cancer takes developments from the lab and accelerates them into new tests and treatments. Since its launch in the UK in 2012, the campaign has raised over £113 million, funding 73 clinical trials and research projects that have involved more than 13,000 cancer patients.
Its research is already making an impact in the NHS, where ‘The Pink Drink’ – a drug that makes brain tumours glow pink under UV light – is helping surgeons find and remove cancer cells.
Scientists hope this latest investment in Manchester will build on advances like this and help make a real difference for more people with brain tumours like Alex.
Emma said: “The time up to Alex being diagnosed was a really horrible time for us, watching him deteriorate and not knowing what was wrong.
“It’s so important that the public get behind Stand Up To Cancer to help put the money there so that vital research projects like these are able to go ahead.”
She told us: “Since his diagnosis, Alex has always been really keen to support the cause of progressing work on improving things for managing brain tumours, including raising the issues with our local MP, who went on to discuss this in parliament, clinical drug trials and research, including the Tear Project. Life has changed so dramatically for us over this time with our planned future forever lost.
“Alex is not likely to be here to see the fascinating work being done by Professor Hamerlik and her team move from the lab to an actual real patient clinical setting if it is successful.
“But what a legacy for us to remember everything he has done and be a part of something that will hopefully help others in the future. I think our children will have that to reflect on with great pride in the future too.”
Every year, around 44,700 people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West of England.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jemma Humphreys, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Alex and Emma. It’s thanks to our supporters that we are at the cutting edge of research, developing pioneering technology like this tear test.
“But we must go further and faster. Nearly one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime. All of us can help beat it.
“That’s why, whether people choose to donate or fundraise, we’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer with us. If thousands of us make a stand, we’ll speed up the progress of vital research – meaning more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”
* Support Stand Up To Cancer research at su2c.org.uk
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
