Woman with ‘just a migraine’ actually had cancer

After being told by numerous doctors that the pain in her head was “just a migraine”, British Beth Parker, 27, decided to take matters into her own hands.

He began planning his own funeral.

Doctors also told her that she was crazy and that she was making up for her pain, and they referred her to a psychiatrist.

After years of pain and seizures, he pressed for an MRI.

What the doctors found confirmed her fears: She had brain cancer.

“For months, I had told my doctor that I had terrible migraines and pressure in the back of my head, which was getting worse, but I was still receiving painkillers,” Parker told the Liverpool Echo, his local newspaper in the northern Liverpool city. England.

“I once had two seizures while waiting to be treated at A&E (accident and emergency department).”

Parker’s symptoms reached a critical point, where he experienced vomiting, memory loss, seizures, vertigo, tinnitus, loss of bladder control, and loss of sensation.

After pressing for an MRI in 2017, it was discovered that there was an injury to Parker’s brain stem and C1 vertebrae in his spine.

Low-grade hemangioblastomatoma of the brainstem was diagnosed.

Even after the diagnosis, doctors remained skeptical of Parker.

“They (the doctors) said that you wouldn’t see any growth until you’re 40,” he said.

“They didn’t want to do a biopsy, because of the extreme risks, and they said they would watch and wait.”

Parker’s symptoms continued to worsen, but doctors ignored his pleas for help.

“From that point on, my symptoms continued to get worse. I experienced vertigo and loss of sensation on one side, along with immense pressure on the back of my head,” he said.

“They even sent me to a psychiatrist because the doctors thought I was making it all up.

“They said that it was impossible for my tumor to cause these symptoms and that I had a functional neurological disorder, because I was not coping with my diagnosis. I knew this was simply not true.”

By 2019, Parker’s health had deteriorated so much that doctors said he needed urgent surgery to remove the tumors.

“There was a chance that I would never walk again, I would never breathe on my own again,” she said.

“There was a possibility that I would be completely paralyzed or on one side. There was a risk of a stroke and, of course, death.”

It was at this point that he began planning his own funeral.

“I wrote a letter to everyone who was close to me,” he said.

“I wrote a list of my passwords and what to do with my animals.

“I planned all the details for my funeral. Honestly, it was incredibly difficult to do, just thinking about how everyone would cope if they lost me was heartbreaking.”

Fortunately, the eight-hour surgery was a success.

“The first thing I remember thinking when I woke up was, ‘I can move my big toe!’ and the relief I felt when I realized that I was not paralyzed was amazing. “

Now Parker is trying to raise awareness about brain tumors, so that doctors listen to others.

“During my own journey, I was struck by the countless number of medical professionals who were unaware that my symptoms were warning signs of a brain stem tumor and how they treated me because of it,” he said.

Parker is now working with the Brain Tumor Research charity to help raise awareness of the disease.

She has also created her own fundraising page, with all proceeds going to more research on brain cancers.