Cara Hood was just 18 when she died after her family initially thought her headaches were due to her Higher exams — but doctors discovered she had medulloblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumourFiona Leishman Assistant News Editor and SWNSJackFifield (Jack Fifield)09:37, 01 Jun 2026A teenage girl tragically lost her life after what appeared to be 'exam stress headaches' was revealed to be cancer.‌Dad Graham Hood, 62, recalls how his daughter Cara began experiencing migraines in spring 2024 - symptoms the family initially attributed to the pressure of her approaching exams. However, the headaches continued throughout the summer months and, come August, the family received heartbreaking news that she had medulloblastoma - a form of brain tumour.‌Cara, 18, courageously endured chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment but sadly her health declined over the following year and she sadly died in hospital on November 8, 2025 at just 18.‌Graham is now speaking publicly ahead of a 56.7-mile (91.2 km) charity cycle ride alongside his son Rory, 21, in Cara's memory. The father, employed in customer support for a software firm, recalled: "She was doing her Higher exams, in the springtime in 2024."She was complaining about headaches, which we assumed stress related with her doing her exams. She got through her exams, and the headaches didn't stop."‌During July and into early August, Cara's mother Lyndsay, 55, a community pharmacist, and Graham made numerous trips to their GP surgery with their daughter. Blood tests were carried out, with both parents growing increasingly concerned as she experienced unexplained vomiting.Graham said: "It was a locum GP when I took her. The locum GP said 'it's most likely migraines, but if you want to cover all the bases then we could see about getting a CT scan for you, if you would like'. [Cara] said 'OK, I'll do that'."‌The teenager was scheduled for a CT scan that very day, August 8, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's same-day urgent care centre in Glasgow. Graham recalled: "When she was being taken away for the CT scan, the doctor said 'I'm sure it will just be migraine, we'll just need to look at different migraine medication for you'."But then when he came back, he said 'I'm afraid we've found something that's not right' and got one of his colleagues to go through it with her."‌Cara had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, affecting the region of her brain responsible for controlling the sickness reflex. The tumour was surgically removed the following day. As the family believed the tumour was non-malignant, dad Graham anticipated Cara would be 'back in school in a couple of months'.Graham explained: "One of the doctors on the night said 'I've seen the scans, it looks good', and that reassured us. We thought it was non-malignant. "But on the 21st of August we were told by the specialist dealing with her it was an aggressive cancer – Medulloblastoma. They weren't expecting that, because Cara at that point was 17, and Medulloblastoma is more commonly found in younger children."‌She was referred for additional treatment, including six weeks of proton beam therapy, a form of radiotherapy, administered at The Christie hospital in Manchester that year, followed by five rounds of chemotherapy commencing in early 2025. However, Cara, who celebrated her 18th birthday in March 2025, began experiencing sickness once more.Initially, the family attributed her symptoms to a reaction to the chemotherapy, but a quarterly MRI scan told a very different story. On September 23, they received the devastating news that the cancer had returned to her brain and her spine.‌Graham recalled: "We were devastated. Because it was just a routine appointment, if there can be such a thing, it was just my wife who went in with her. She phoned me and said that Cara had to be kept in overnight because she needed another MRI, and that she wanted me to bring in overnight stuff because she hadn't been expecting to stay overnight."I went in on the afternoon of the 23rd. She met me in the car park and said 'prepare yourself for bad news'. That's when she told me. My wife and I were devastated, but Cara was stronger than we were. I was a mess. Cara took it with stoicism and courage."‌Just seven days later, on September 30, Cara became disorientated and struggled to comprehend what her parents were saying. They rushed her back to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where the family were informed that a 'do not resuscitate' order would be placed on her file. Graham said: "That was probably the lowest point – we thought that was it, she was gone."The following morning, she was transferred to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, where she received six weeks of specialist care, before passing away in the early hours of November 8. Her father Graham and brother Rory are now both taking part in Sir Chris Hoy's 'Tour de 4' to raise vital funds for Brain Tumour Research.‌Graham has already collected more than £6,700 in donations before the ride, which departs from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on September 6. The father explained: "Brain tumour research is pretty much underfunded. I don't know why there's less focus on that particular area of illness, but there just is."He continued: "It's difficult, because if you look back there were signs. She maybe complained about her balance a wee bit. But, there weren't any signs that you'd say 'right, she must have a brain tumour'. You just don't expect that kind of thing.‌"I'm sure you can imagine, my wife and I have both gone back in our minds and thought 'if we could go back, what would we do differently?' As soon as she started saying 'I've got a sore head', or 'I'm a wee bit off balance', should we have gone to the doctor then? What would the doctor have done? I don't think they'd have done anything."Could we have absolutely insisted on getting an MRI at that point, and would anything have even shown up? It's difficult to know what we would have done differently. The positive I can spin on it is that she lived a healthy, happy life for her first 17 years, and Medulloblastoma is an illness that typically affects younger children.Article continues below"Other families who go through this are likely to go through it at a younger age, and even if the outcome is successful, the outcome often includes long-term effects from the treatment. So, it's really those families I feel for, who go through it with a younger child."To view Graham's fundraiser click here.