'I thought it was a migraine then I was told I had six months to live'

'I thought it was a migraine then I was told I had six months to live' Engin Tanak thought his headaches were migraines, but painkillers didn't help A man's 'migraines' led to him becoming semi-paralysed and being told he had as little as six months to live. Engin Tanak, 42, began getting severe headaches in early 2025, which he put down to migraines, but painkillers didn't help. A scan revealed lesions on his brain and he had surgery to remove them. He was diagnosed with an aggressive grade four glioblastoma brain tumour. The dad-of-three underwent eight months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but a follow-up scan showed progression. He underwent a second surgery in April this year, but Engin had an unexpected stroke during the surgery, leaving him partially paralysed. Because the tumour had progressed so aggressively, he and partner Mirela Andreea Crunteanu, 35, were told there was nothing more the NHS could do to treat it and he would enter palliative care. Engin, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, then sold his much-loved cafe to pay £85,000 for private treatments aimed at targeting the tumour using his own immune system. But the money has run out, so the couple are fundraising to continue it, as well as pursuing other options abroad in a bid to save his life. Engin, a former chef, said: "I was emotionless and numb for a while. It was very scary, I can't even explain it. "Right at the start the doctors said a prognosis of six months to five years. It was hard to hear." Mirela, an insurance senior account coordinator from Enfield, north London, said: "The diagnosis of aggressive cancer was not what we expected at all. Things seemed okay after the first surgery because the surgeon believed it had all been removed. "But at the end of the treatment the tumour had reappeared and since then everything has been an uphill battle. But Engin is and always has been a fighter, he'll never give up the fight, so neither will I." Engin's migraines became so intense that one evening, Mirela and Engin went to A&E to get help - and a scan there revealed lesions. He underwent a surgery at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) in London, where they resected the lesions, in April 2025. The couple, who have five children from previous relationships between them, got the devastating news that it was cancerous. Engin said: "It was very scary, I can't even explain it. The doctors made sure I knew how serious it was and that was hard to hear." They were told the next steps would be chemotherapy and radiotherapy after the surgery seemed to have successfully removed most of the lesions. He underwent the treatments between May 2025 and December 2025, which made Engin extremely unwell. But a scan at the end of the treatment showed another tumour that had appeared. In April this year, Engin had a second surgery to remove up to 95% of the tumour, because a small part was wrapped around the motor cortex of his brain and couldn't be removed with surgery. But Engin had a stroke during the surgery, leaving him partially paralysed when he woke up. He was left with limited movement in his leg and shoulder, his speech was affected and he had weakness on one side of his mouth. Mirela said: "They didn't know it was a stroke at first. I was petrified. "Then the focus was on rehabilitation, and he was transferred to a rehab centre, but he had a seizure from being tapered off steroids, so he didn't end up being able to start the rehab. It was an uphill battle." By mid-May, more than a month after his second surgery, doctors revealed the cancer had continued to progress, and that nothing more could be done for Engin. He said: "That was the worst meeting, I felt like I was being sent home to die." The couple paid £2,000 for some private physiotherapy treatment, which helped Engin regain most of his movement in his leg. But the determined couple refused to give up and began investigating private treatments. They have begun the process of having DCVax-L treatment - an immunotherapy which is a personalised vaccine made from each patient’s own dendritic cells, a type of cell that helps the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. Clinical trial findings suggest that adding DCVax-L to standard chemotherapy could offer newly diagnosed patients nearly three months of additional life on average. It was described by Dr David Jenkinson, chief scientific officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, as potentially being "a landmark and long-awaited breakthrough in the treatment of glioblastomas". But it is not yet available on the NHS, meaning the couple have had to privately fund the treatment by selling Engin's much-loved cafe. The couple said their money had run out and they needed to raise funds to continue the treatment. Engin said: "I've got to the point where I have to just blank it out, waking up and being reminded of my situation is so hard. Every morning you wake up and re-live that fear. But I don't have a choice. "I just want some more research to be done, obviously I'm lucky I had a business I could sell, but not everyone has that to fall back on. I can't work any more because I'm too weak, but I need to pay for more treatment." The couple have launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of future treatments. Mirela added: "It's a continuous fight now." Joanna Moss, director of services at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “It is heartbreaking to know that people with a brain tumour diagnosis are sometimes obliged to privately fund potential treatments, or travel abroad for it, because of barriers to NHS access. It’s vital that manufacturers and regulatory bodies come together to guarantee that new treatments in the UK are assessed fairly and promptly, so that those affected can access the treatments they need as quickly as possible."