Former NRL star Mark Hughes shares story of devastating battle with high-grade brain cancer

Former NRL player Mark Hughes was diagnosed with 'high-grade' brain cancer in 2013. Photo / Instagram

Former NRL player Mark Hughes was a healthy 36-year-old father of three when suddenly his life turned upside down.

After experiencing consistent migraines, the former Newcastle Knights player went to the doctors where it was revealed he had a cancerous tumour the size of an avocado growing on his brain.

Speaking to Femail, the young father said when doctors found the growing tumour, “all hell broke loose”.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought about what was to come - I thought it was a migraine and I’d get some tablets to fix it,” he said, adding, “The doctor was a little concerned and sent me to have a scan - from that moment on all hell broke loose for me and my family.”

Following the scan, Hughes was told he had a tumour that needed to be removed through surgery, “It was terrifying,” he told the news outlet, “you just don’t see these things coming. It was a horrible time and life changed from that point on.”

Unfortunately for the former league star, his fight wasn’t over yet and one week after surgery, he was told it wasn’t enough. Doctors told the young dad that he had “high-grade” brain cancer which required additional treatment including one month of radiation and six months of chemotherapy.

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Describing his feelings following the diagnosis as a “roller coaster of emotions”, Hughes underwent the extensive treatment which saw him mainly housebound and surrounded by family.

“I couldn’t drive a car and didn’t leave the house much during that time but surrounded myself with family,” he said. “From there I dusted myself off after a bit of soul searching for a month or so and went into recovery mode - that’s the sportsman mindset in me.

“I took up swimming and running during radiation to give myself every chance of better health.”

Now, 46, Hughes said the treatment worked exceptionally well but noted there is “no cure for brain cancer” and he continues to receive check-up scans every four months.

After the shock diagnosis 10 years ago, Hughes continues to challenge himself and recently treked Mount Kokoda, the base camp of Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro

“For me, you can never stop climbing mountains and challenging yourself,” he said.