Three years ago, Lee Whitehorn, then 44, was given just 14 months to live. After defying the odds, he took his last breath on Tuesday surrounded by his family.
The father of two had been battling headaches in early 2021 and attributed it to his stressful career.
She quit her demanding job in April to focus on her young family, but weeks later, on ANZAC Day, she suffered a seizure while feeding her one-year-old son.
Brain scans revealed he had a rare, inoperable brain tumor.
Speaking to FEMAIL at the time, the otherwise “fit and healthy” dad revealed he had some unusual symptoms which led to the discovery of the tumour.
Three years ago, Lee Whitehorn, then 44, was given just 14 months to live. After defying the odds, he took his last breath on Tuesday surrounded by his family.
This included attacks of blurred vision, something she desperately hoped other people would take seriously after hearing her story.
Speaking from the home they shared in Adelaide, Lee’s wife told FEMAIL that his health had deteriorated rapidly over the past month.
“A week before he died, he had a fall and broke a vertebra in his back and we discovered that the cancer had also metastasized to his spine,” he said.
“From then on the deterioration was very rapid.”
The family had “made the most” of the last three years and three days together after doctors said cancer would take Lee’s life.
Pictured with his wife Laura, the 47-year-old died three years and three days after doctors discovered his brain cancer.
They took a vacation and spent “a lot of family time” while enjoying every precious moment they had left.
“We knew how lucky we were for the time we had,” he said, adding that his sons Max, 6, and Jack, 4, adored him.
‘He was the best father in the entire world. He had wanted to be a father for so long and there was never any doubt that he would be the best.”
Laura said he was a hands-on dad, feeding them at night “constantly” and taking the boys to football “almost every week” when they lived in Queensland.
‘I will miss her radiant smile and positivity every day. The children know how brave he was and will always admire him.”
Laura said Lee left them “a lot of himself” and often spoke on his podcast about his love for them.
“They will always know what a bright light he was to many,” he said.
In January the family had their last family vacation, although they didn’t know it at the time. Laura described her time away as perfect.
“After that was the beginning of the decline,” he said.
Lee had had headaches in the months before his diagnosis, but it wasn’t until he had a seizure that he thought something serious was wrong.
When doctors first found the tumor, it was lodged deep in Lee’s brain, with spidery tentacles wrapped tightly around key nerves and blood vessels.
They said trying to eliminate the growth would almost certainly cause irreparable damage to the vital components governing skills like speech and emotions that made him who he was.
Lee’s tumor was a diffuse astrocytoma, which grows outward in buds rather than having a round, neat shape.
At that time Laura spoke to FEMAIL about cancer and the moment she realized something bad had happened.
“It’s coming out like a spider, almost like legs wrapping around different parts of the brain.” That’s what makes it inoperable,” Laura explained.
She recalled finding her husband “dazed and confused” the morning of his attack, still trying to feed their son as blood dripped down his face.
‘He kept saying “I don’t know what happened”, his eyes couldn’t focus. It was so strange, he had never seen it like that,” he said.
The doting father (pictured with his youngest son, Jack) thought his symptoms were caused by his highly stressful job.
About 1,879 Australians are diagnosed with a brain tumor each year, according to the government. health data sample.
While glioblastoma patient numbers are not regularly recorded, a 2013 report lists 982 new cases in Australia that year alone.
Glioblastoma is a rare and highly malignant form of cancer that typically develops in the cerebral hemispheres (the main body) of the brain, but can also grow in any area or in the spinal cord.
The tumors are particularly malignant because they grow rapidly, supported by an extensive network of blood vessels that run throughout the brain.
The family will remember the father as “the best of all time”; They want to remind people to monitor their symptoms right away.
Glioblastoma is more common in older adults, but is known to occur in children and adolescents.
Warning signs include headaches, fatigue, and light sensitivity, as well as nausea, vomiting, double vision, and confusion.
But as Lee’s story demonstrates, the disease can progress quickly and insidiously with few symptoms.
Once glioblastoma has advanced to level four, patients typically receive a prognosis of 12 to 14 months.
the family has a Go finance me campaign to help with costs following Lee’s death.