‘I didn’t even know they had scanned my head’
19:12, 15 Mar 2026Updated 20:43, 15 Mar 2026
Lewis with his wife Keeley (Image: Supplied by The Brain Tumour Charity)
After Lewis Goodfield collapsed in hospital due to severe stomach pain in March 2025 he received a shock diagnosis that “hit him like a tonne of bricks”.
Having been admitted to hospital for ongoing abdominal issues, a malignant brain tumour was the last thing he expected to be told he had.
The 37-year-old dad from Beddau said: “For several years I have had ongoing stomach issues where I’m severely in pain and I end up in hospital for a few days and have tests – but nothing has ever been found.
“So last year unfortunately I was admitted into hospital in January. Then in March time I collapsed in A&E and the doctors and nurses assumed I had a seizure, so they scanned my head.
“That’s when they found and confirmed five days later that I had a mass on the brain. That came to me as a bit of a shock. I went in with one issue and came out with another.” Always keep on top of the latest Welsh news with our newsletter
Lewis said medics understand that the issues are unlikely to be related and that his diagnosis of a grade two glioma was found by chance. He said medics agree that he likely did not suffer a seizure at all and collapsed due to the pain of his abdominal issue.
Describing the moment he found out about his diagnosis, he said: “In March within those five days [at hospital] I didn’t even know they had scanned my head.
“The doctor came around, pulled the curtains across and he said: ‘Look, unfortunately with the stomach we have no answers, but unfortunately we have found a mass on your brain.’”
Lewis, a father-of-two, said he then faced the horrific ordeal of telling his family the news.
Lewis described his shock at finding out his diagnosis(Image: Supplied by The Brain Tumour Charity)
He said: “It was quite tough at the time, I didn’t have anyone there with me. I rang my wife and she was at work, I rang my dad and he was at work in a meeting, my mother was 10 minutes around the corner, so she came in and then she broke down.”
By the summer, Lewis faced two operations: one on his abdomen and one on his brain in an attempt to remove the tumour.
He said: “On the first meeting with the neurology team they said I’ve got three options. Either they could go ahead straightaway and get the operation done, they could give me treatment, or they could monitor it and see how it goes.
“They said because of the size of the mass and the [then assumed] seizure, the best option to get it done.
“On June 30 I had a laparoscopy [on the abdomen] and they found I had adhesions so they removed those, and then on July 11 I had the operation on my head.”
Lewis said the operation was successful and that although the brain tumour was cancerous, medics believed it had been found early enough.
“Nothing has grown back,” he said. “But it is a tumour that does grow back – how quick and fast, they can’t predict.”
Lewis said medics believe the brain tumour may have been growing for a number of years. He recalls having made numbers calls to the GP about symptoms he now understands were likely connected.
He said: “I had numerous e-consultations going across to my GP where I was complaining that I was significantly tired during the day.
“I would get up for work, be driving and come 10am I would be ready to pull over to have a sleep.
“There were quite a few occasions where I had headaches, and I always remember when I was admitted into hospital in January and February last year, that was cruel. It was just horrible – the lights, the sounds and the headaches were bad.”
Lewis recalls a number of head-related symptoms prior to his diagnosis (Image: Supplied by The Brain Tumour Charity)
Lewis said since his operations he had been feeling somewhat better until his stomach issues came back with a vengeance in January 2026. He is currently unable to drive or work as a services engineer.
Describing his life now, he said: “Now I’m in a position where I can try and handle my day to day, but some things are quite tough.
“My memory loss is quite a challenge for me at the moment. The long term memory loss isn’t so bad, it’s the short term memory loss – what happened yesterday or the day before.
“Even watching a programme on TV last night I go to bed and I wake up this morning and it’s like ‘how did that programme finish?’
“I’m not able to drive, so my wife is having to do everything. If it’s not my wife, it’s my close family. The kids play rugby so on the weekend we have to ask for lifts and share lifts.
“For me it affects work. Before March last year I would be continuously on my own in the van and then there would be a certain amount of jobs I had to get done per day.
“Work has been absolutely brilliant throughout the whole process, I had been teamed up with someone so [they would] pick me up and drop me [where I had to go]. I was doing half days on a phased return, but now I’m out of work again because of my stomach.”
Despite the uncertainty and ongoing issues he faces, Lewis said he counts his lucky stars that he is still here, and able to be with wife Keeley and their children. He said she has been an “incredible” support to him.
He said: “She has been absolutely amazing with everything she has had to go through and all the appointments she’s had to attend. Everything she’s done for the kids: the school runs and picking them up. She has been outstanding from the start.”
Lewis with his wife Keeley(Image: Supplied by The Brain Tumour Charity)
Lewis with his family
As he continues on his health journey Lewis has found solace in opening up about his experience. He said: “For the first six months there were probably 10 people who knew about my diagnosis.
“Then when I was going in for the operation I didn’t tell my kids, who are aged 10 and six, so they don’t know the full extent of what I’ve been through.
“I kept a lot of it back, I was just fighting and fighting to try and remain positive and I think it just got to a point in September last year when everything just hit home.
“I started sharing my story and opening up because it did release a bit of pressure. Some people would see a big scar on your head, or ask why you aren’t driving and assume it’s drink driving.
“I’m still suffering with it now, but I think I’m in a better place because I have had counselling sessions.”
Lewis’s motto is “Never give up” – and it’s that positive attitude that has led him to challenge himself to take on a Twilight Walk Own Walk on March 14, and raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity during Brain Tumour Awareness month.
He will also run the Cardiff Half Marathon in October to raise money for the charity.
He said: “Walking 30km will be tough for me, considering I’m still under investigation with my abdominal pain, yet mentally I’m strong. I know I’ll complete this.
“As someone who loves the outdoors, devising my own twilight walk was a perfect challenge for me. I chose a route that covers my whole village and surrounding area. It’s where me and my Bamp walked many times when I was younger, so it’s close to my heart.
“Since I started planning my walk, I’ve been joined by 40 others. It means the world to me that so many close friends and family will be walking with me, with still more joining for the last two miles, including Keeley and our two children.
“After I put my story on socials it’s surprising how many people have opened up and spoke about their own issues, and it’s good to show my story for confidence mentally and physically to them and to keep fighting.”
Having smashed his original £600 goal in just one week, Lewis has now surpassed £3,368. You can support the fundraiser here.
He said: “I’m so grateful to everyone who has donated. The fundraising I’m doing is to show support and appreciation for everything the charity does and as I know I will be forever looked after, this will be part of my life.”
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