Glasgow mother with glioblastoma urges brain cancer care

A 35-year-old mother from Glasgow has shared her story after being diagnosed with an incurable and aggressive brain tumour, using her experience to campaign for improved treatment and research for the disease. Kim Borthwick was diagnosed with glioblastoma on January 18, 2026, just one week after first experiencing severe symptoms following the Christmas holidays with her husband, Ross, and their four-year-old twin sons, Max and Freddie.

Borthwick initially attributed a sudden, unbearable headache to festive burnout. She described a rapid deterioration, with tingling in her hand, loss of feeling on one side of her body, and vomiting. After multiple visits to her general practitioner, she was referred for an urgent CT scan at a hospital emergency department. She was diagnosed that same day and told she might need immediate surgery. She has credited National Health Service staff with saving her life through their swift response, which she says has granted her more precious time with her children.

However, her prognosis remains stark. Medical professionals indicated that if she lives to see her 40th birthday, she would be among the 10 percent longest-surviving patients with this...