COMMONWEALTH athlete Archie Goodburn is calling on the Scottish Government to increase the standard of brain tumour care following his own diagnosis.
The Edinburgh local was forced to put his Olympic dreams on hold after being told he had brain cancer.
This diagnosis means that Goodburn could have anything from three to twenty years left.
Despite this, the swimmer continues to train for the World University Games next month and is hoping to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.
Goodburn made his Commonwealth debut in 2022 in the men’s 50-metre breaststroke and is the Scottish record holder for 50m breaststroke, which was achieved in 2023.
The swimmer competed on the University of Edinburgh team and has trained in the Royal Commonwealth Pool on St Leonards for his whole life.
Last year after a training session, he was told that he has three ‘low grade’ inoperable tumours on his brain.
Brain tumours reportedly kill more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer, though the disease is allocated just 1% of cancer research funding.
This being said, Goodburn is hopeful that medical advancements may give him and others struggling with the disease some more time.
The 2022 Commonwealth athlete is calling for the Scottish Government to bring its brain tumour care up to, or beyond, the standard of the rest of the UK and Europe, and to establish its own genomic and pathology services.
He is also urging Scots to contact their local MPs or MSPs to raise the issue of mitigating delays with patients receiving drugs following successful trials.
Speaking on social media yesterday, he said: “We drastically lag behind Europe in terms of care and access to novel treatments.
“Raising awareness and highlighting the issues is the best way to make the changes.
“Our young population deserve better and need the changes now.”
Goodburn continues to train to defend his title and hopes to not only represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Games but to compete in the next Olympics too.
