Dad-of-two told by doctors he had 'headaches' has rare inoperable brain tumour

A dad that was told by doctors he had headaches actually has rare inoperable brain tumour.

Amanpal Uppal, 35, known as Pali, was initially diagnosed with tension headaches, but earlier this year he was told he had a highly aggressive cancerous tumour.

The dad-of-two Pali started experiencing short headaches in April of this year and was referred for a CT scan and blood tests.

Although, he never received the scan and blood test and was diagnosed with tension headaches instead, LeedsLive reports.

His family thought this was unusual as he had never suffered any health problems before and encourage him to seek a private scan.

Pali had initially been told he suffered from headaches, but his family urged him to see a private doctor (Uppal family)

After a private scan, a mass was found on his brain and he was sent for further examinations which took days to complete alone in the hospital.

He after being released from hospital, he was sadly diagnosed with a stage 4 Diffuse Midline Glioma brain tumour that it aggressive and inoperable.

At the end of June, Pali began three weeks of advanced radiotherapy.

Pali's family are now searching for alternatives as the tumour is resistant to conventional treatment, and they are hoping to raise money for an expensive trial drug and immunotherapy in Germany.

Pali's older sister, Kiren Sirha, said: "Pali is our world, he is the rock of our family as a father, husband, son, brother and dear friend to so many.

"He has a heart of gold and never fails to put others before himself, he is our inspiration every day, we are so proud of him.

"It has become challenging for us to see our beloved Pali endure weeks of radiotherapy and the side effects that have followed.

She added: "It's been a hard journey for the last few months. It's devastating. He's 35 and he has a young family.

"He's my younger brother, but we're all young - it's been a big shock."

"Those 3 weeks were the most gruelling any of us have ever experienced and the effects of radiotherapy have hit Pali hard."

The dad-of-two was told that the tumour in inoperable (Uppal family)

Upon research and conferring with oncologists, Pali and family were told trial drug ONC201 could be the most effective treatment for his specific tumour as well as an immunotherapy treatment in Germany.

However, Kiren said they were told ONC201 could not be funded by the NHS, and his family are trying to raise the funds for the treatment themselves.

ONC201 costs £5,000 a month, and must be used long-term if it is effective. Immunotherapy in Germany could cost around £60,000 per treatment. The family is therefore hoping to raise £120,000 for Pali.

Kiren said: "We'll do anything we can for him. We're going to get him the treatment no matter what. But there's so many people out there who won't be able to do this.

"It's a heart-breaking and emotional journey, but we're doing anything and everything we can."

Pali's family are hoping to raise money so that he can receive specialist treatment in Germany (Uppal family)

Dr Phil Wood, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are sorry to hear about Mr Uppal’s experience.

"We always strive to deliver the highest quality care and to find ways to improve our services through patient feedback. If Mr Uppal and his family would like to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service we can work with them to address their concerns.”

The GoFundMe page for Pali's treatment can be found here.

As of Friday October 8, £45,000 had already been raised towards Pali's target.