Young Cornwall rugby player shares brain tumour story in bid to raise awareness
Chae Jenkins from Bude was only diagnosed following major leg surgery
Last updated 30th Jun 2022
A young rugby player from Cornwall who discovered he had a brain tumour at 21-years-old is raising awareness of the condition and the impact it can have on life.
Chae Jenkins from Bude was only diagnosed following major surgery to lengthen one of his legs.
The operation was needed due to Chae having what is known as a rare pilocytic astrocytoma.
However six months into his recovery from that, the tumour was found following a weakness in the left side of his body and worsening symptoms.
Chae said: "The plan was to have my leg-lengthening surgery when I was 19, spend a year or so in recovery and then carry on pursuing a career in the sport I had grown up with.
"Unfortunately, I didn’t realise that April 2019 would be my last time playing a sport I loved".
During recovery from leg surgery, Chae's mum, Maggie Watts, also noticed a change in his speech.
She has since given up work to become Chae’s fulltime carer, who is now having six-monthly scans to monitor his health.
Chae said: "Doctors didn’t know if it was a cyst or cancerous mass and at this point, my mum and I were quite naïve with the diagnoses the doctors offered.
"I was your typical college rugby guy, not giving it much thought, continuing with my life, watching TV, chatting to my mates and making jokes – not taking it seriously".
A recent scan showed Chae's tumour is now stable and he is working with the charity, Brain Tumour Research, to campaign for an increase in the national investment into research.
Chae hopes he will open up conversations between people who do not know what to say to loved ones going through the same.
He said: "I lost a lot of friends after I was diagnosed with my brain tumour. I would get funny looks from people when I went out, almost like they had seen a ghost.
"People didn’t know how to act around me and I would often get asked ‘how are you?’ when I replied ‘fine, you?’ they would reply ‘no really, how are you?’
"They only ever seemed to be interested in my brain tumour which I found very annoying.
"I am still the exact same person I was before my diagnosis; I'm still Chae.
“I want people to know they're not alone and I hope that by sharing my story, I can help someone going through their own diagnosis and start the conversation about brain tumours and that you aren’t defined by your diagnosis".
The charity aims to raise more awareness and funds for brain tumour research, after studies find the disease kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
Mel Tiley, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "We’re sorry to hear about Chae’s diagnosis and wish him well as he continues to be monitored.
"We're grateful to Chae for sharing his story to help people who may have received their own diagnosis, to feel less isolated.
"Chae's story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age, yet Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours".