Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. Over 88,000 children and adults are estimated to be living with a brain tumour in the UK and consequently most are coping with a reduced quality of life; over 5,000 each year will lose this battle.

Even though a shocking 12,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year, my diagnosis in 2020 came completely out of the blue! I was not suffering from any of the ‘usual’ symptoms; I merely had some tingling in my right foot after straining my back from sweeping. At first, I thought I had pulled a muscle in my back, impacting a nerve as the tingling was dull, not debilitating, nor did it really bother me. A few days after, I got the odd twinge in my right hand and again thought this was strange but not serious. The GP brushed it off and sent me for a Carpal Tunnel test, suggesting that as the back repairs, things would improve. Displeased and frustrated with this answer, I used my company’s private health care to expediate things to see a specialist. After visiting a spine specialist, and enduring a full spine MRI, nothing was to be found. I was then referred to a Neurologist, which was a complete surprise to me, as I first believed my spine was the route of the issue, but now the specialists were questioning if it was coming from higher up. Even though intrigued with my symptoms, the neurologist did not think there was anything sinister given the fact I felt, looked, and acted fine. I had no headaches, eye aches or seizures; some of the usual symptoms of a brain tumour. I was sent for a brain MRI – ‘just to be sure,’ which then resulted in another follow up MRI with a contrast dye. It was a Wednesday I will never forget; I was busy at work and had plans in the evening, so I politely declined the follow up MRI appointment and requested a more convenient time. When the MRI technician did not entertain this and suggested I cancel my plans, I knew that was not a good sign.

Results day – February 2020… From the moment I stepped into the room for the appointment with the Neurologist, I knew something was wrong, as there was a nurse already in with the Consultant. I was informed the scan showed I had a tumour the size of a tennis ball in my brain and not surprisingly it needed to be removed ASAP. The next few days were a blur. Everything was moving quickly in preparation for me to have major brain surgery within a matter of days, which happened to be the same day the Coronavirus was declared a pandemic – two life changing events in one day. After 2 days recovering at St George’s Hospital, I was sent home as I was recovering well but also COVID-19 was sweeping through the hospital and so it was safer for me to continue my recovery at home. After a week, I returned to the hospital to have my staples removed and was given the devastating news that the tumour was malignant. I was referred to my local Oncology centre to undergo treatment for the remaining tumour. At first, I was told the tumour was at least grade III astrocytoma with a suggestion of further transformation to grade IV glioblastoma and so treatment had to begin immediately and there was no time to freeze my eggs. Further tests on the tumour confirmed that it was a diffuse grade 2 astrocytoma, however the treatment course would be the same. I had 6.5 weeks of radiotherapy, which meant when everyone else was going through the first UK lockdown I was leaving my house daily, Monday to Friday for ten-minute radiotherapy sessions – the upside was little to no traffic on the roads! Next, began my chemotherapy cycles; 5 days of chemo tablets followed by 23 days off. This cycle continued until it finished in early May 2021 causing the tumour to remain static.