Man, 24, with ‘tropical stomach bug’ while backpacking gets shock diagnosis on return to the UK
WHEN Connor McCrossan fell ill while travelling with friends in Thailand doctors thought he had picked up a tropical virus.
But just a few weeks later, the 24-year-old, from Leyland, received the devastating news that he had been suffering from the effects of a brain tumour.
“They said it was a virus gave me some medication and said it’d pass,” he recalled.
At the time, Connor was staying in Chiang Mai, part way through a trip of a lifetime across Southeast Asia.
“I remember waking up one morning and my eyes were all sore, it looked like I had conjunctivitis, I had a terrible headache and kept being violently sick,” he said.
At first, Connor thought he might have a tummy bug.
But when a couple of days went by and no improvement, he decided to get checked out at the hospital opposite the hotel he was staying at.
Doctors told him it was just a virus, gave me some medication.
“But there was zero improvement,” Connor said. “And things got progressively worse,” he said.
“I spent about 10 days in this hotel room sleeping and trying to get better.”
When things didn’t improve, Connor made the decision to book a flight back home.
“I was in a bad way when I got home,” he said.
“I hadn’t been eating or drinking and kept being sick every day.
“My mum took me to A&E and still everyone was going down the route of it being a bug that I’d picked up while travelling.”
He eventually got an MRI which revealed a mass.
Tests showed he had medulloblastoma – a type of cancerous brain tumour that’s mainly found in children but can also affect young adults.
“Thinking back, it gets me a bit emotional, it was such a shock, and I remember thinking I’m just going to have to get on with this,” Connor said.
In a weird way I think it’s been a good thing that happened to me because it’s made me reevaluate my lifestyle and I don’t take anything for granted anymore
Connor McCrossan
Connor was admitted to Royal Preston Hospital before being transferred to The Christie, Manchester where he had surgery to remove the tumour.
This was followed by a six-week course of proton beam therapy – a type of precision radiotherapy that Cancer Research UK helped to develop.
The charity funded the world’s first hospital-based proton beam device in 1989, which is still in use today, and also supported some of the world’s first clinical trials into the treatment.
What is medulloblastoma?
Medulloblastoma is the second most common type of brain tumour in children.
It develops at the back of the brain in the cerebellum and is fast-spreading.
Around 52 children are diagnosed with medulloblastoma every year in the UK. Adults can also get it, but this is rare.
Symptoms often develop over several months and may not be noticeable until the cancer has spread. These include:
- Headaches (particularly in the morning)
- Feeling or being sick
- Double vision
- Finding it hard to sit or stand unsupported (children might fall backwards)
- Problems walking
- Stumbling, falling and general clumsiness
- Being irritable (kids might take longer than usual to settle)
- Appetite loss
- Behaviour changes (children might interact with their siblings less)
- Increased head size
- A swollen or soft spot on the top of the skull
On average, around 85 per cent of children diagnosed with medulloblastoma survive for at least five years.
Source: Cancer Research UK and Brain Tumour Research
Proton beam therapy uses protons instead of X-rays, which can be directed to stop precisely inside the tumour and produce a burst of energy.
This destroys the cancer and spares nearby healthy cells making it a vital tool for treating patients whose tumours are near sensitive parts of the body like the brain or spinal cord – especially in children, teens and young adults.
For people like Connor, it means treatment may be finished sooner with fewer hospital trips, lower travel costs and, crucially, fewer side effects – allowing them to go back to their normal lives.
Since finishing treatment Connor has been monitored with regular scans.
His most recent check-up showed no sign of cancer, and he is now starting to rebuild his life.
He said: “I was very grateful for being able to have proton beam therapy which has fewer side effects than standard radiotherapy and it all went well and ran really smoothly.
“Then I started looking at anything else I could do to help my recovery, so I changed my diet and started to throw everything at it holistically as well.
“In a weird way I think it’s been a good thing that happened to me because it’s made me reevaluate my lifestyle and I don’t take anything for granted anymore.
“After two clear scans, everything is fine, and life is slowly getting back to normal.”
New treatment
Now Connor is lending his support to Cancer Research UK’s campaign to fund more breakthroughs to help people like him in the future.
Cancer Research UK scientists laid the foundations for modern radiotherapy back in the 1920s.
After decades of research to innovate and improve it, today radiotherapy is used to treat more than 140,000 people every year in the UK, from curing early-stage cancer to easing symptoms for people with terminal illness.
The charity’s goal for ‘next-gen’ radiotherapy is making it more personalised and targeted so that everyone gets the best treatment for their cancer.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jemma Humphreys said: “As the evolution of radiotherapy shows, we’ve been at the forefront of cancer research for over 100 years.
“From making it more targeted to combining it with other treatments and reducing the number of doses needed, Cancer Research UK has changed clinical practice worldwide and made radiotherapy kinder and more effective.
“But our work isn’t done yet.
“That’s why we’re grateful to Connor for helping to raise vital awareness and funds.
“We want to bring about a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer – no matter who they are or where they’re from.
“And monthly donations are critical to making this a reality.”