Teen who ‘couldn’t keep up with pals on girls holiday’ blamed a hangover – then doctors gave her 12 months to live
A TEEN who thought she had a hangover after a girls holiday found out she only had 12 months to live after doctors found a brain tumour.
Ella Pick, 19, from Boston, Lincolnshire, felt “off” after a four-week trip to Zante last June but thought it was because she couldn’t keep up with her friends’ drinking.
But she started suffering severe migraines after returning home before her left eye began drifting inwards — prompting an urgent visit to her local optician who referred her to hospital.
There, doctors discovered a lump on Ella’s brain and delivered the devastating news that she has an incurable and inoperable brain tumour, giving her just 12 months left to live.
Ella said: “Everything kind of started last June when I went away with my girls to Zante for a holiday.
“It was an amazing holiday. I think for the first two or three nights, I felt absolutely fine.
“We were all having the best time. Then I didn’t exactly feel ill, I just didn’t feel myself. I wasn’t drinking as much or going out as much.
“I thought maybe it could be a hangover. I just felt off. Now I look back and think I clearly wasn’t well.
“We got home and I felt absolutely fine then a week or so later I started getting severe migraines. The pressure in the back of my head was awful. I’ve always suffered with migraines but never to that extent.
“Then my left eye drifted inwards towards the middle of my face. I went for an eye test and they referred me to the hospital and said it was ‘major concern’.”
Around 12,300 Brits are diagnosed with a brain or other central nervous system or intracranial tumour every year.
Doctors can test for the disease with MRI or CT scans, as well as neurological examinations and biopsies.
The main treatments are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as supportive treatments to ease symptoms.
Signs depend on where tumours are located on the brain and can often be missed at the early stages of the disease, when it is easier to treat.
They include headaches, seizures, nausea, behavioural changes, vision or speech problems and weakness that gets worse over time.
Ella was rushed to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, following a particularly severe migraine in the shower.
She had previously experienced migraines over several years, but it is not clear if these were related to the tumour or not.
I just felt completely numb. It still doesn’t feel real
Ella Pick, 19
After a CT scan and MRI, doctors discovered a lump on Ella’s brain that was later identified as a diffuse midline glioma in her brain stem.
The cancer is incurable and inoperable — with Ella given an estimated 12 months left to live in July last year.
The teenager had to turn down an interview for her dream job, working as cabin crew for British Airways, due to her diagnosis.
Ella, who works on check-out at a supermarket, said she wants to make as many memories with her friends and family as possible with whatever time she has left.
Ella said: “I just felt completely numb. It still doesn’t feel real. Everyone else around me is hurting more than I am.
“They can’t exactly say how long I have because I can’t have a biopsy because of where the tumour is. If I were to have a biopsy, they would more than likely paralyse me so they can’t exactly say how many months I have.
“I’ve gone back to work and would just rather go on with life as normal. I’ve been on a few holidays with my family — we’re just trying to make the most of the time we have.”
TREATMENT
Ella underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy last year in the hope of slowing the progression of the tumour.
Her latest scan revealed the tumour was stable and “not growing” after the course of treatment — and Ella admits she’s “open to anything” to help increase her chances.
Ella said: “There’s always different trials with different drugs. I’d be willing to try anything.
“You never expect something like this to happen at 18. It’s like a movie. It’s not actually sunk in even though I’ve known for nine months.
“I’m just trying to get away as much as possible and stay positive.”
The signs and symptoms of brain tumours
Common symptoms include:
- headaches
- seizures (fits)
- persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness
- mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality
- progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- vision or speech problems
Sometimes you may not have any symptoms to begin with, or they may develop very slowly over time.
Source: The NHS