A daughter who lost her mum to an aggressive brain tumour is calling for funding for cannabis-based drug trials to see if they can give patients more time to live.

Karen Benham, 43, from Southend, lost her mum, Susan, earlier this year after she was diagnosed with a large Glioblastoma.

She had been having misdiagnosed symptoms for several months after countless visits to the GP. By the time it was accurately diagnosed, the tumour had formed large tendrils around Susan’s brain.

In 2018, Karen had encouraged Susan to go to the GP as she was becoming increasingly forgetful but numerous scans and tests failed to find the tumour.

In September of last year, she returned to hospital for back surgery. Following the operation her speech was slurred and she was sent for more tests which was when the 5cm tumour was discovered.

Susan had Stage 4 Glioblastoma and she was put into chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the hope of giving her a final 12-18 months with her loved ones – the tumour had grown too quickly for surgery to be an option.

Karen said: “Mum was so determined to beat this and she would do anything it took to live for a little bit longer. She wanted one last everything before she knew that she would potentially die and she never once moaned about the treatment.”

Susan passed away on March 28, with Karen holding her hand at Haven’s Hospice in Southend.

Karen said: “We knew we had such limited time together now. Mum’s hair started to fall out so I shaved it all off for her and it looked great. She had some lovely headscarves but she rocked a bald head too. On Mother’s Day, which she had promised to hold on for, she proudly announced ‘I told you I would be here!’

“Mum was so brave throughout it all. She will be remembered as someone who couldn't sit still, who was always doing something like helping with the grandkids, volunteering as an appropriate adult at our local police station, or out on coach trips with her friends.”

Karen is now calling for a cannabis-based drug trial to go ahead in the hope it may provide more treatment options for people like her mum.

The trial, set up by the The Brain Tumour Charity, will assess whether adding Sativex, an oral spray containing cannabinoids THC and CBD, to chemotherapy could extend life for people diagnosed with a recurrent glioblastoma brain tumour. This tumour type currently has an average survival of just 10 months.

The charity has launched an appeal to raise £450,000 to fund the trial.

Karen said: “Any, advances which could make a difference to those diagnosed with this horrific type of brain tumour would be great – I would give anything to have been able to spend longer with my mum, especially as she was approaching the end of her life.

“There were simply not enough treatment options available to my mum. I never thought that I would lose my mum so young and so quickly – she died just six months after her diagnosis and her deterioration was so fast. Anything which could even just slow down this process would be worth every penny.”

Professor Susan Short, professor of clinical oncology and neuro-oncology at the University of Leeds, said: “Cannabinoids have well-described effects in the brain and there has been a lot of interest in their use across different cancers for a long time now. Glioblastoma brain tumours have been shown to have receptors to cannabinoids on their cell surfaces, and laboratory studies on glioblastoma cells have shown these drugs may slow tumour growth and work particularly well when used with temozolomide.”