A Birmingham entrepreneur died from a brain tumour after doctors repeatedly failed to diagnose the cancer.
65-year-old, Prem Bedi, the father of two, was diagnosed with the tumour four months before he passed away.
Mr Bedi’s widow, Shashi, of Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield recounts the many trips they took together to the doctors after he began showing erratic behavior that he had never displayed before, such as arguing.
After numerous trips to his GP, he was finally referred to a private consultant who diagnosed the tumour.
The granddad-of-four endured chemotherapy and radiotherapy but died on 17th December at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Edgbaston, after some complications.
A semi-retired Shashi, said her husband initially started displaying symptoms of the tumour in January last year.
“We celebrated Prem’s 65th birthday in January with a small party but he seemed distant and wasn’t himself. For the first time in our marriage, we argued.
“In addition to becoming argumentative, Prem became very critical of people and would cause offence by saying hurtful things.”
Prem visited his GP in August with Shashi but it took many more visits for him to be referred confidentially to a specialist.
After a few days, he was told the shocking news that he had glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour.
Shashi recollected: “With treatment, life expectancy was just 12-15 months. Without treatment, Prem had as little as a couple of weeks.
“Prem was declared fit enough to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy and he started treatment in November in the hope it would prolong his life and give us more time as a family.
“Prem was an intelligent man and I think he knew some of what was happening. I tried to be as brave as I could. After just a few days of chemotherapy we saw the first side effects.
“Prem was very sick, his right arm twitched constantly and, one day, he suffered a massive seizure at home. Eventually he was re-admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and never came home again.”
Their 33-year-old son, Vishal, who is now running his dad’s business, added: “Dad was physically fit and healthy, still working and had a good lifestyle. He was due to retire and spend more time concentrating on himself and his grandchildren.
“It is shocking to think that brain tumours can affect anyone at any age. It is appalling to learn that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”
The family is currently raising awareness of the disease and funding for the charity Brain Tumour Research that will be holding a musical event on 4th June in loving memory of Prem, who owned Villa Motoring Centre, in Hockley.
