Wife pays tribute to 'beautiful, caring soulmate' following his death from 'neglected cancer' aged 45

Carol McLeod will spend what would have been her third wedding anniversary walking in memory of husband Neil, who died aged 45 after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour.

Neil and Carol McLeod on their wedding day in August 2020. Neil died in June from glioblastoma, a fast growing an aggressive brain tumour, aged 45, with Carol spending what would have been the couple's third wedding anniversary on a fundraising walk to raise awareness of the 'neglected' cancer. PIC: Contributed.

For Carol McLeod, everything fell into place when she met her husband Neil.

But on what would have been the couple’s third wedding anniversary, she will be finishing a fundraising walk in his memory following his death in June from glioblastoma, a type of aggressive, incurable brain tumour which killed him just six months and a day after his diagnosis.

Glioblastoma rapidly stole life from the fun, fit, happy father-of-two and driving instructor who loved his funk and soul music and nights with friends and family. It also without mercy took a husband from Carol, a forensic scientist with the Scottish Police Authority, and left him struggling to walk or talk.

Neil McLeod, a driving instructor from Burntisland, Fife, died six months and a day after his diagnosis from glioblastoma, a rare and aggresive brain tumour. PIC: Contributed.

On Tuesday, Carol will finish the last stretch of the 83-mile Fife Coastal Path out of their hometown of Burntisland, a route the couple walked many times together with their dog, but this time Neil won’t be by her side.

Carol said: “It took me a long time to find my person but as soon as we got together it was just easy. He was just my other person, my soulmate.

“He was just a beautiful man, inside and out. He was so laid back, not materialistic at all, he just loved music, loved people, and was never happier than when surrounded with his friends and family. He was extremely caring and romantic and loved by many people.”

A widow at 49, Carol said she now had to raise awareness of the disease, which started to show very subtle symptoms last March.

The couple on their wedding day in August 2020. PIC: Contributed.

She said: “His diagnosis was horrendous – it took months.

“He had what he called a turn, a strange sensation running up one side of his body, over his head and down the other side of his body. He felt his words and his speech sounded funny, but it didn’t to other people listening in.

"It kept happening. He was referred for a routine neurology appointment and was told the waiting time was nine to 12 months.”

By June, he was forgetting his children’s names and calling the fridge the cooker. Extreme tiredness set in and in October, he lost a stone and a half.

Carol said: “ By November I am in tears in the GPs office saying ‘please’."

It was an optician who told Neil to go to hospital immediately. He had his first CT scan on December 23 and was told he likely had a malignant brain tumour before being sent home for Christmas. Surgery followed in January.

Carol said it was her “one prayer” her husband didn’t have glioblastoma, which campaigners describe as a “neglected” cancer given a lack of research, funding or treatment development. Then, the diagnosis came through and Carol’s world “fell apart”.

Neil died on June 24 at the Victoria Hospice in Kirkcaldy and Carol is now raising money for Our Brain Bank, which is campaigning for genomic sequencing of patients’ tumors to improve treatment.

Carol said: “The charity’s ultimate mission is to turn it from a death sentence to something that you can cure. We have got to battle for it.”

To donate visit justgiving.com/ourbrainbank