A BEREAVED father who lost his 23-year-old son to a brain tumour is opening up about his ordeal to raise awareness.

Gary Bell, 58, who lives in Launceston, is highlighting the stark impact of the disease. His son, Rob Bell, was just 23 when his life was cut short by an aggressive brain tumour seven years ago.

Rob, who grew up in Launceston, was in his second year at Newcastle University when he was diagnosed. Despite struggling with his balance and communication, and while undergoing gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Rob completed his degree in English Language. Poignantly, he was too ill to make his graduation, and passed away in January 2013.

Gary, an operations services manager at Imerys, an industrial minerals company, said: “Rob’s diagnosis changed our lives instantly and it was all-consuming. It was so hard to take in and process the information. Denial crept in, but eventually we had to deal with it.

“My wife and I couldn’t believe that what had started with Rob being unable to grip a pen, led to him being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

“Rob desperately tried to continue his studies and had to re-sit the second year of his course. During his third year he became really unwell. He finally completed his studies in May 2012, though when he returned home we could see he was seriously ill. He was withdrawn and refused to go to bed.

“A hospital bed and hoist were installed in our living room. We wanted Rob to be as comfortable as possible and as hard as it was, we just had to be there for him. Rob deteriorated slowly.

“It’s against the natural way of the world for your child to die before you. Rob had his whole life ahead of him and I’ll always be incredibly proud of what he achieved in his short life. His ability to pass his degree, while barely able to write and while struggling with his balance, was astounding.”

In a bid to help others affected by the disease, Gary is cycling more than 900 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats in August 2020, to fundraise for the charity Brain Tumour Research.

He added: “I’m a keen cyclist and am looking forward to the challenge. I’m very grateful to my son Chris Bell and nephew Tommy Pearson, who will be joining me on the ride, and we hope to raise £5,000.”

Gary updated his Just Giving page recently to confirm the ride is still planned to take place.

He said: “I have taken the decision not to venture outdoors on my bike as cycling alone at present just doesn’t seem sensible to my mind, if I was to have an accident I would place a further burden on the emergency services and the NHS.

“Indoor training it is then!”

To donate to Gary’s JustGiving page go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Gary-Bell12