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A teenage girl died after her \u2018exam stress headaches\u2019 turned out to be cancer.<\/p>\n
Dad Graham Hood, 62, says daughter Cara started complaining of migraines in the spring of 2024 \u2013 which the family thought were related to the pressure of upcoming tests.<\/p>\n
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Dad Graham Hood says daughter Cara started complaining of migraines in the spring of 2024 Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
The headaches persisted through the summer and, in August, they were given the devastating news that she had medulloblastoma Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
But the headaches persisted through the summer<\/a> and, in August, they were given the devastating news that she had medulloblastoma \u2013 a type of brain tumour.<\/p>\n Cara, 18, bravely underwent chemotherapy<\/a> and radiotherapy but her condition deteriorated over the next year. She died in hospital on November 8, 2025.<\/p>\n Graham is speaking out ahead of cycling<\/a> 56.7 miles (91.2 km) with son Rory, 21, in memory of Cara.<\/p>\n The dad, who works in customer support for a software company, said: \u201cShe was doing her Higher exams<\/a>, in the springtime in 2024. \u201cShe was complaining about headaches, which we assumed stress related with her doing her exams.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t SITE SOLD<\/p>\n River City site sold for more than \u00a32m as campaigners ‘devastated’<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t HARDWIRED<\/p>\n Metallica saved my superfan autistic teenage son’s life <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cShe got through her exams, and the headaches didn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham is speaking out ahead of cycling 56.7 miles with son Rory in memory of Cara Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n Mum Lyndsay and dad Graham took Cara to see the doctor multiple times Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n Throughout July and into the beginning of August, community pharmacist mum Lyndsay, 55, and dad Graham took Cara to see the doctor multiple times.<\/p>\n She was given blood tests, with both parents worried as she was being sick with no apparent cause.<\/p>\n Graham said: \u201cIt was a locum GP when I took her. \u201cThe locum GP said \u2018it\u2019s most likely migraines, but if you want to cover all the bases then we could see about getting a CT scan for you, if you would like\u2019. \u201c[Cara] said \u2018OK, I\u2019ll do that\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMost read in The Scottish Sun\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The teenager was booked in for a CT scan the same day, August 8, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital\u2019s same-day urgent care centre in Glasgow<\/a>.<\/p>\n Graham said: \u201cWhen she was being taken away for the CT scan, the doctor said \u2018I\u2019m sure it will just be migraine, we\u2019ll just need to look at different migraine medication for you\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then when he came back, he said \u2018I\u2019m afraid we\u2019ve found something that\u2019s not right\u2019 and got one of his colleagues to go through it with her.\u201d<\/p>\n Cara had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, affecting the part of her brain that controls the sickness reflex. The tumour was removed the next day in an operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Graham thought Cara would be \u2018back in school in a couple of months\u2019 Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n The family thought the tumour was non-malignant at first Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n As the family thought the tumour was non-malignant, dad Graham thought Cara would be \u2018back in school in a couple of months\u2019.<\/p>\n Graham said: \u201cOne of the doctors<\/a> on the night said \u2018I\u2019ve seen the scans, it looks good\u2019, and that reassured us. We thought it was non-malignant.<\/p>\n \u201cBut on the 21st of August we were told by the specialist dealing with her it was an aggressive cancer \u2013 Medulloblastoma. <\/p>\n \u201cThey weren\u2019t expecting that, because Cara at that point was 17, and Medulloblastoma is more commonly found in younger children<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n She was referred for further treatment, including six weeks of proton beam therapy, a type of radiotherapy, carried out at The Christie hospital in Manchester that year, and five rounds of chemotherapy starting in early 2025.<\/p>\n But, Cara, who turned 18 in March 2025, started getting sick again.<\/p>\n While the family initially put her symptoms down to a reaction to the chemo, a quarterly MRI showed differently.<\/p>\n On September 23, they were told the cancer had returned to her brain and her spine.<\/p>\n Graham said: \u201cWe were devastated. \u201cBecause it was just a routine appointment, if there can be such a thing, it was just my wife who went in with her.<\/p>\n \u201cShe phoned me and said that Cara had to be kept in overnight because she needed another MRI, and that she wanted me to bring in overnight stuff because she hadn\u2019t been expecting to stay overnight.<\/p>\n \u201cI went in on the afternoon of the 23rd. \u201cShe met me in the car park and said \u2018prepare yourself for bad news\u2019. That\u2019s when she told me.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I were devastated, but Cara was stronger than we were.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a mess. Cara took it with stoicism and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n Cara turned 18 in March 2025 Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n Cara passed away in the early hours of November 8, leaving her family heartbroken Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n A week later, on September 30, Cara became disorientated and couldn\u2019t understand things her mum and dad were saying to her.<\/p>\n They took her back to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where the family learned that she would have a \u2018do not resuscitate\u2019 order on her file.<\/p>\n Graham said: \u201cThat was probably the lowest point \u2013 we thought that was it, she was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n The next morning, she was transferred to the Beatson West of Scotland<\/a> Cancer Centre, where she was given six weeks of specialist care.<\/p>\n She passed away in the early hours of November 8.<\/p>\n Dad Graham and Cara\u2019s brother Rory are now both riding in Sir Chris Hoy<\/a>\u2018s \u2018Tour de 4\u2019 to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.<\/p>\n Graham and Rory are now both riding in Sir Chris Hoy\u2019s \u2018Tour de 4\u2019 to raise money for Brain Tumour Research Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n Graham thinks brain tumour research is underfunded Credit: Graham Hood \/ SWNS<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RF-RIVER-CITY-31MAY_COMP-1.jpg\"\/)
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