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I don't know if I'll live long enough to see my twins start school

Kim Borthwick Kim Borthwick with her four-year-old twin sons Max and Freddie. She has long, dark hair and glasses and the boys have blond hair and blue eyes. They are sitting on a grey sofa in a living room and are all smiling at the camera Kim Borthwick
Kim Borthwick is treasuring every moment with her twin sons Max and Freddie

A mother who was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer says she is treasuring every moment with her twin boys as she may not live long enough to see them start school.

Kim Borthwick, 36, from Glasgow, was diagnosed on 18 January, just a week after she began experiencing symptoms.

It followed a busy festive period with her husband Ross and four-year-old twins Max and Freddie, and when she developed a headache she initially thought she had just "overdone it".

Following several visits to her GP and a trip to A&E for an urgent CT scan, she was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a type of highly aggressive brain tumour.

Kim told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast she was initially prescribed migraine medication but after a few days the pain had not subsided and she went to A&E.

She has credited NHS staff with saving her life, saying their swift action has given her more time with her sons.

She described her first headache as "unbearable".

"I remember saying, 'I need to lie down'," she said.

"Then my hand started tingling and I lost feeling down one side. I was being sick.

"I just knew something wasn't right, but I'd never experienced migraines before so I put it down to that and thought it had been triggered by overdoing it during the festivities."

Kim Borthwick Kim Borthwick is sitting up in bed in a house. She is wearing white, silky pyjamas and large glasses. She has no hair and is smiling at the cameraKim Borthwick
Kim is campaigning for better support and funding for rare cancers

If she makes it to her 40th birthday, Kim will be among the longest-surviving 10% of people diagnosed with her type of cancer.

She said this has led to her treasuring every moment with her sons.

"I don't know if I'll see them start school," she said.

"You take those little moments for granted until you realise they could be taken away.

"My diagnosis has given me the clarity to enjoy every moment I have with my boys."

She added: "I know I would have made a bloody good granny."

Kim said her experience had also brought home the lack of attention and resource given to tackling brain cancer, where survival rates in the UK have not changed for decades.

She said this felt like an "injustice" given that survival rates for many other cancers had improved "dramatically" over the same period.

She has joined the Brain Cancer Justice (BCJ) campaign group, which is urging politicians to provide greater support and funding for rare cancers.

The group is also calling for a dedicated minister for rare cancers to ensure continuity in research, funding and policy.

Kim Borthwick Kim Borthwick with her husband Ross and four-year-old twin sons Max and Freddie. She has long, dark hair, her sons have blond hair and blue eyes and her husband. She and her husband are wearing baseball caps and one of their sons is wearing a bucket hat. They are in an outdoor setting with trees behind them and are all smiling Kim Borthwick
Kim with her husband Ross and twin sons Max and Freddie

Kim said: "I have a fire in my belly to affect change for people diagnosed with brain cancer in Scotland.

"It is difficult to accept, but it's unlikely I will benefit from these changes.

"I can't accept this diagnosis knowing we could be doing so much more in Scotland to support people with brain cancer."

She added: "There's been no change to outcomes for people diagnosed with brain cancer in 30 years, and brain tumours remain the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.

"To me, that is scandalous."

Kim pointed out that patients in other G8 countries routinely receive surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy as standard treatment, along with treatment using the Optune device, which slows the growth of cancer cells.

She was able to receive the treatment through her private healthcare but she said this combination was not routinely available in Scotland, leaving many families having to navigate treatment options, clinical trials and additional support on their own.

She also said tumour samples in Scotland were not routinely "fresh-frozen" during surgery, which she said meant patients in Scotland became ineligible for clinical trials and emerging genomic treatments that require preserved tissue samples.

"These aren't cures," she said. "Nobody is pretending they are. But they give people more time with the people they love and, ultimately, that's what matters."

Kim is sharing her story during Glioblastoma Awareness Week, hoping that future families might be offered more options and face a different outcome.

She wants "kinder and more effective treatement".

"It's too late for me," she said. "But I want to make a difference for those who come after me."