Former soldier Paul Coleman is selling his home to fund “one last chance” at private treatment for incurable brain cancer. The 38-year-old lost the hearing in one ear in 2012 and was initially diagnosed with a benign tumour. In 2020, doctors confirmed it had become cancerous. Despite radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery, the tumour has now spread to his brain stem, where further surgery is not possible.
Paul and his wife, Michelle, 33, spent £150,000 adapting their home in anticipation of his condition worsening. They have now put the property on the market and launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for private treatment.
Michelle said: “I just want my husband back… We’re fighting for time. That’s all we’re asking for: time. He’s not ready to go. I’m not ready to lose him. Our family isn’t ready to lose him.”
She added: “We aren’t asking people to cure Paul. We aren’t asking people to fix something that can’t be fixed. We’re asking for a chance. A chance to try this treatment. A chance to fight. A chance to have more time together.”
Paul, who lives with Michelle in Geddington, Northamptonshire, said his initial diagnosis was “a bit of a shock”. He had assumed his hearing loss was linked to his time in the army. The couple bought their first home in 2015, but Paul was turned down for life insurance. “It felt like they knew more than us on what was to come,” he said.
The confirmation that the tumour was cancerous was the “worst news possible”, Michelle said. However, she added: “They told us it was incurable, but it’s not the end of the game — he was looking at having quite a good lifestyle.”
Paul, a groundworker, underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy before being told in 2021 that he could expect to live for five to eight years. The couple moved into a new home and renovated it to make it wheelchair accessible, adding a downstairs bedroom and wet room.
Two years later, the tumour had grown and appeared to occupy around 25% of his brain. It had reached grade four, but further treatment and surgery kept it “at bay”. According to the Brain Tumour Charity, people with grade four glioblastoma have a life expectancy of around 12 to 18 months with standard treatment.
Paul underwent brain surgery in 2022 to remove as much of the tumour as possible. He said: “They removed all of it apart from a strip — they said if they took that bit out it would have affected me permanently and left me with brain damage.”
Michelle, who works as an accountant, said the operation was one of the most difficult periods she had faced. “When Paul was in surgery, I basically cried solidly for 10 hours waiting for that phone call,” she said. “We didn’t know if he’d come out of surgery, or if he’d be really disabled and unable to walk or swallow.”
In early 2026, doctors told the couple that the tumour had progressed to Paul’s brain stem. Further radiotherapy left him severely debilitated, with vomiting and “piercing headaches”. He also developed a tremor in his right hand, while the left side of his face began to droop.
This summer, after a multidisciplinary team meeting, Paul and Michelle were told that surgery was no longer an option. Doctors recommended Bevacizumab, a drug that targets vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, a protein on cancer cells that helps tumours develop blood vessels to obtain oxygen and nutrients.
Bevacizumab blocks VEGF, preventing the cancer from growing the blood vessels it needs and slowing its growth. However, the treatment is not routinely available on the NHS, and the couple said doctors told them Paul would need to receive it privately.
Each treatment is expected to cost £4,000, with four initial treatments required. The couple set up a GoFundMe page with a target of £20,000 and have so far raised more than £15,800.
Michelle said: “It feels like I’m living through a panic attack on a permanent basis. It feels like a very American problem to have. The kindness from everyone has just been unreal and it’s taken a massive weight off our shoulders.”
The couple do not yet know how many treatments Paul will ultimately need, so they have put their house on the market to raise additional funds. Michelle said: “All the money we’re paying for our mortgage could be going towards treatment if we downsize.”
She added: “It’s going to be so hard to give this house up — we’ve got friends down the road that come and help us, and we have a whole community here.” Paul said: “I served in the army, I fought for my country, and I’ll fight this.”
