FITNESS fan and Army Cadet leader Mark Calaz did not think at first he had much to worry about when he started getting flu-like symptoms.

But just weeks later after collapsing at home he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and given months to live.

Car dealer Mark, 52, of Littleton Panell, near Devizes, is determined to use the time he has remaining to raise the profile of the charity Brain Tumour Research in the hope others will get more hope options after diagnosis.

He can no longer walk far and gets tired easily but is remaining positive. He is supported by his wife Mandy and their many friends in Wiltshire Army Cadet Force where they first met in 1994.

He said: “I try not to dwell on what’s coming, but focus on the positives and make the most of each day. My wife Mandy and I love baking and have made cakes, cookies and shortbread for the Army Cadet Force in return for donations to Brain Tumour Research.

“It’s not until you have cancer yourself that you realise how many people are affected. The amount of funding going into brain tumour research is ridiculously low so, while I am here, Mandy and I are determined to raise as much awareness as we can.”

Mark, who worked selling cars at Slades in Rowde for 20 years, was diagnosed in November last year with a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour which is the most common type of primary cancerous brain tumour in adults.

He underwent surgery at Southampton General Hospital but doctors were not able to remove the entire tumour.

Mark said: “The neurosurgeon explained that it would only be possible to remove about 80 per cent of the tumour and that I was looking at a limited time-span of at best 18 months given I was a healthy man.

“I found it very difficult to register everything he was saying, but Mandy did and was very upset.”

www.braintumourresearch.org/stories/in-hope/mark-calaz