‘I dumped my man because he has cancer – now I’m running in his honour’

A woman, who left her boyfriend because his cancer battle was “damaging” her mental health, is now set to run a marathon in his honour.

A woman is gearing up to run the London Marathon on Sunday in honour of her ex-boyfriend – who she left because his cancer battle was “damaging” her mental health.

Danielle Epstein’s ex-partner, Jelle Fresen, was diagnosed in September with a rare and aggressive type of brain cancer, a grade 4 medulloblastoma, at the age of 37.

After a gruelling 17-hour brain surgery, Mr Fresen had to learn how to talk again. He also underwent six weeks of radiation therapy and began nine months of chemotherapy. The struggle was simply too much for Ms Epstein at the time.

“I felt like the most awful person, leaving somebody because they have cancer, but it was damaging my mental health, and it wasn’t helping Jelle,” the 32-year-old told South West News Service.

A woman is running the London Marathon for her ex-boyfriend – after admitting she left him because she couldn’t cope with his cancer battle. Picture: SWNS

Jelle Fresen was diagnosed with a grade 4 medulloblastoma in September 2022, when he was 37. Picture: SWNS

The physics teacher explained she was so “worried” and “devastated” about Mr Fresen that she was having trouble sleeping and eating.

“I was having panic attacks and was on so much medication to sort myself out I just couldn’t function,” she said.

“I still love Jelle deeply and want to support him, but I came to realise I couldn’t stay with him as his partner.”

The pair split – and now, Ms Epstein is running the marathon in Mr Fresen’s honour to raise money for brain tumour research.

“I felt so helpless watching all this unfold, so I knew I had to do something,” she said.

The couple was buying a house in London together when Mr Fresen, a Google software engineer, started to experience dizzy spells and vomiting.

Doctors initially thought he was suffering from an ear infection, but he sought out a private MRI after his vomiting worsened.

Mr Fresen's surgery scar. Picture: SWNS

Mr Fresen after his operation. Picture: SWNS

The scan found a tumour in his brain. Surgery then revealed the mass was indeed cancerous. Medulloblastoma is a type of cancer that’s most often found in children, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Ms Epstein said she felt like their whole lives “came out from under” them.

The surgery left Mr Fresen with nerve damage, which resulted in some paralysis on the right side of his face. He also can’t fully close one eye, and has a squint that gives him double vision.

“We were on a certain path to a certain future, and within one day we knew it wasn’t going to work out like that anymore,” Ms Epstein said.

After they broke things off, she moved to Thailand to be with her father.

Now the former couple is trying to work on a friendship.

Ms Epstein training for the marathon. Picture: SWNS

“I’m not a runner, but Jelle has done marathons before, so I thought it would be a challenge for me and a nice tribute to him, and it felt like something to aim towards,” she said.

She added that training for the London Marathon has been physically and mentally challenging – but it’s nothing compared to what her ex has endured.

“I have the best motivation: If Jelle can go through all of this then I can run a marathon,” Ms Epstein said.

And Mr Fresen will be there on Sunday, cheering for and supporting his former girlfriend. He said it’s “incredible” that she is running the 42km race.

“When she said she was going to do a marathon, I must admit I had my doubts,” he told SWNS.

“I think she only did about 5km when we were together, and that was with a lot of complaining. I’ve got so much respect for her discipline and perseverance.”

Ms Epstein started a fundraising page to raise money for brain tumour research, with the goal of collecting about $12,500.

“While his tumour type is rare, brain cancer is not, with one in three people knowing somebody affected,” national events manager for the UK-based charity Brain Tumour Research, Carol Robertson, told SWNS.

“We’re very grateful to Danielle for taking on his huge challenge to help raise funds for our cause.”