British swimmer Archie Goodburn has revealed he has been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer.
The 22-year-old became aware of three large tumours defined as oligodendrogliomas – a rare form of diffuse and progressive brain cancer – which are inoperable, after tests conducted following this year’s Olympic trials.
He has previously won bronze in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships and represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.
In a post on his Instagram, Goodburn said: “Six weeks ago, my life experienced a profound change as I was diagnosed with three brain tumours.”
His training had begun to be interrupted by “strange episodes” in December of last year.
While at first these episodes were thought to be migraines, the suspected seizures left him with a loss of strength, and numbing sensation down his left-hand side.
He continued: “The seizures grew in intensity and frequency in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic trials in April, something I’d aimed for and trained for almost my entire life.
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“I was determined on achieving my dreams, so I continued to train on 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.”
While surgery would have been the preferred option, Goodburn said he is hopeful radiotherapy and chemotherapy will prove effective.
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He said: “The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumour types.
“They are often slow-growing and these tumours are likely years old.”
Despite the diagnosis, the swimmer said he was going to remain optimistic.
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He added: “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.”
