Woman only found out she had terminal brain cancer after a suitcase fell on her head

It was to be the “first of many celebrations” for Lauren Macpherson, who spent the August bank holiday at a music festival in London.

She had just passed her exams for a promotion at work and bought her first home with her boyfriend Zak.

But when a 35lb (16kg) suitcase fell on Lauren’s head from the train’s overhead bin on the way back to Cardiff, it came to an end when the 29-year-old learned she was living with terminal brain cancer.

“We kind of wanted to start celebrating and start living,” said Lauren, who was told she could expect to live about 10-12 years.

Recalling the moment she found out, Lauren said: “It’s like the ground is falling out from under you, you don’t know what to do, it’s scary.”

“Will I see my 40s?”

The impact of a suitcase falling on Lauren’s head last year caused a lot of swelling, and doctors were initially worried she might have a fractured spine.

Lauren was taken off the train at Swindon for medical care and a CT scan revealed a shadow on her brain.

“I knew right away,” Lauren said.

“There’s an instinct inside you, and when you’re not feeling well, everything makes sense.”

Two days later Lauren was referred to Cardiff for an MRI and at that time she was told she had a brain tumour.

“It’s almost like a relief, you think you’re going crazy, everything is going wrong,” he said.

Lauren was struggling with symptoms emotional dysregulation and that he experienced extreme fatigue in the year before the accident, but that this was due to his hormones or ADHD, which was undiagnosed at the time.

He said he went to the GP three times for various tests because he was experiencing bowel problems and loss of consciousness.

The fatigue was so bad that Lauren switched from full-time work as a cardiologist to part-time work so she could manage her studies for her Master’s degree.

“I was pretty naive to be honest… I was worried but not afraid at this point.

“At this point I didn’t think it was incurable, I just thought ‘they found it, they can get rid of it’.”

His next appointment with his counselor was a month later, and that’s when the seriousness of his diagnosis became clear.

Doctors suspected he was glioblastomaIt’s a rapidly growing brain tumor and if it had been aggressive he would have only had two years to live.

“We had just had our flat whites, we thought we’d stay there for an hour and get on with our day,” Lauren laughed.

“We never expected this. Then it hit me, and at that moment you say, ‘Oh my God, you can look at two more years.'”

Lauren was told she would need surgery to remove the tumour, but the wait on the NHS would last four months.

Since she didn’t want to wait, she applied to a private clinic under Zak’s work-related health insurance and the period was reduced to three weeks.

“You feel like you have this disease inside you and you want to get it out,” he said.

“I didn’t even cry during the interview. I didn’t cry because I’m brave and strong and tough… that’s not the point.

“But for me, it was like the survival instinct was kicking in… I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t hopeful.”

For Zak and Lauren’s family, this news is devastated.

Lauren had brain surgery at the end of October, during which approximately 80% of the tumor was successfully removed.

Biopsy later confirmed it was second degree oligodendrogliomaa rare, rapidly growing incurable brain tumor, but it was in its early stages.

“It was really weird, like someone had given me a new brain, nothing made sense, I didn’t feel like myself,” Lauren said.

Because of a tumor in the speech vortex of her brain, Lauren was unable to speak for weeks after surgery and lost most of her cognitive function.

It took time for him to recover, and he had days where he was sick and experienced dizziness.

“I didn’t realize how hard the first month would be, I just wanted to start feeling better.”

Wanting to talk to others going through the same experience, Lauren started an Instagram page to raise awareness and document her journey.

“You just want to talk to people and see how everyone is doing and how other people are feeling,” he said.

This was thanks to the connections he discovered vorasidenibIt is a less aggressive treatment method used for patients who do not need immediate chemotherapy or radiotherapy after surgery.

The treatment has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Guidelines for NHS in Scotlandbut not in Wales, England and Northern Ireland; It’s something Lauren is campaigning to change.

The Welsh government said it relied on independent advice from NICE to ensure the cost of treatments routinely offered to patients in Wales were “in balance with the benefits”.

“Although trial evidence suggests it may slow the progression of cancer, there is no clear evidence that it helps people live longer,” he said in a statement.

He added that NICE had temporarily recommended vorasidenib not be available on the NHS, but final guidance was expected to be published later this year.

Lauren needs scans every three months to monitor her tumor and is in the process of undergoing fertility treatment before starting Vorasidenib, which she receives through a private provider.

“Medicine is perfecting at a rate never seen before, AI as we know is taking over, so I’m really hopeful about that.”

Lauren remains hopeful for her future, but admits to having “those moments with your family where you break down and you can’t breathe.”

“Everything has been hard for me… but for the family, it’s almost been harder for them,” he added.

“I think everyone always says, ‘I wish it wasn’t you, it was me,’ but I could really see it in their eyes, the pain in their eyes the whole time because they wanted it to be theirs and not mine.”

“It was really hard, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to have to deal with that.”