British swimmer Archie Goodburn has revealed he’s been diagnosed with a devastating form of brain cancer.
Goodburn, who turned 23 just days ago, went public with the crushing details surrounding his recent diagnosis following a visit to the doctor in the aftermath of the UK Olympic trials in April.
During training for the Paris Games, Goodburn battled seizures and numbness down one side of his body but pushed through to give himself the best chance of competing at the Olympics.
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If missing out on qualifying for Paris 2024 by a narrow margin wasn’t painful enough, Goodburn’s world was turned upside down when tests discovered three large inoperable tumours.
The nature of the rare form of cancer makes surgery to remove the tumours impossible, with Goodburn now facing chemotherapy and radiotherapy to try and treat them.
“Six weeks ago, my life experienced a profound change as I was diagnosed with three brain tumours,” he wrote on Instagram.
“In December 2023, my training began to be interrupted by strange episodes. These episodes, initially thought to be hemiplegic migraines, would occur during hard training.
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“They would leave me with a loss of strength and a numb sensation on my left side, a deep feeling of fear, nausea and extreme deja vu. I now know that these were in fact seizures.
“The seizures grew in intensity and frequency in the lead up to the Olympic trials in April, something I’d aimed for and trained for almost my entire life.
“I was determined on achieving my dreams, so I continued to train through the seizures.
“I narrowly missed the Olympic team by just a few tenths of a second, placing third in an event with only two spots. With the trials behind me I dug deeper into what was really causing these attacks. An MRI in May finally revealed what I’d begun to fear the most.”
Goodburn won bronze in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships and also competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“My brain is what makes me who I am,” he added.
“It’s where my personality comes from. Where I store my memories and what allows me to feel emotion.
“Being honest, along with the fears of missing out, what terrifies me the most is the very nature of what a brain tumour truly is, and the vital part of my being that it threatens. I like who I am and I don’t want to change me.”
Goodburn said he’s determined to fight the disease with the support of his large network of family and friends.
“The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas (form of cancer) generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumour types,” he said.
“I am young, I am fit, I have the most phenomenal support network of friends, the best family I could ever hope for and a fantastic girlfriend by my side.
“I am determined to take this head-on, to remain positive and to keep being Archie.”