In Hope Stories
Just 1% of the national research spend has been allocated to this devastating disease
Laura Mahon
Laura Mahon, 30, from St Helens, was 20 weeks pregnant with her daughter when she woke up and couldn’t move her toes. Over the following week, she was unable to feel much of her right leg. Her GP immediately sent her to The Walton Centre in Liverpool for an MRI scan, which revealed she had a terminal glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour. Laura was faced with the difficult choice of having the baby early, at 30 weeks, or risk her own health. Baby Sienna was born on 30 November 2021. Sienna suffered a punctured lung and spent a week on an incubator. She is now doing well and is putting on weight. Unfortunately, new mum Laura was told she has just two years to live.
Laura tells her story…
My husband, Danny, and I were so excited
about the prospect of having our first child together.
One morning in September 2021, when I
was 20 weeks pregnant, I woke up and realised that my toes on my right foot
weren’t moving. I didn’t think too much about it, after all I was pregnant and
was feeling tired. But things got worse the next day and I could no longer move
my right leg and was struggling to walk.
I was now 24 weeks pregnant, so I went
to see my GP, who thought the baby was lying on a nerve and causing the
problems. He sent me to The Walton Centre for an MRI scan of my back. It came
back clear, but I was sent for another MRI scan on my brain to make sure
everything was OK.
I was only in the machine for five minutes
when they pulled me out. They said that they could see something, so they sent
me back into the scanner. I lay there for an hour, and I could see into the
radiology room as doctors appeared, all looking at my scan. I was pulled into a
room with my mum and was told the devastating news that I had a brain tumour.
They told me it had more than likely been there for years and years and had now
started growing.
“It was such a shock, I was only 29 and didn’t think something
like this could happen to me. I was so focused on the baby, but I was getting
more poorly.”
Because I was pregnant, the treatment
options were limited. The doctors told me that this was a very unique case, and
they wanted to monitor me before deciding what to do.
I couldn’t walk properly, I was being
sick, and I was so tired, so we decided to bring our daughter into the world at
30 weeks. At my planned caesarean section, the midwifery team put me under
general anaesthetic so that I was totally relaxed. They didn’t want to put any
pressure on my brain because of the risk of causing further complications.
On 30 November 2021, our beautiful daughter Sienna Grace Laura Mahon was born, weighing just 3.4lbs, at Warrington Hospital. Sienna was taken to the neonatal ward where she was placed in an incubator. She developed pneumothorax - a collapsed lung – so she was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital because she needed a higher care unit.
I discharged myself from Warrington
Hospital, even though I wasn’t really well enough, because I wanted to be with
Sienna. Danny and I followed her to Oldham, where she was put in an incubator
for a week. We weren’t allowed any visitors because of COVID restrictions. We
really wanted our family to be with us, so it was very stressful for both of
us.
We were driving back and forth between Oldham
and The Walton Centre in Liverpool for appointments. It was so tiring, but all
the staff we encountered at each hospital were so amazing and supportive. I
cannot thank them enough for looking after our baby and us.
On 9 December, I had an MRI scan with contrast dye, and
this revealed (or showed) that the tumour had nearly doubled in size. I was
told that it was now inoperable because it was on my motor cortex, and it
wouldn’t be safe to remove it. They could only do a biopsy, so the following
day they did that, but they could only remove around 20%.
“I was devastated because I’d got my hopes up. It was yet
another setback, bad news on top of bad news.”
I left hospital on 14 December and Danny
and I moved into my mum and dad’s house. That was when everything caught up
with me and I just broke down. Danny took time off from
his job at United Utilities.
Sienna was still in Warrington Hospital. It was so hard because I was so tired and I was recovering from two major surgeries, and I could only walk with crutches. Danny would go to see her every morning, and then he would come home to pick me up so that I could visit her in the afternoon. It was great to see that Sienna was getting better and she was putting on weight.
On 22 December 2021, I received the
results of my biopsy. Danny and I had prepared ourselves for the worst. We knew
deep down what it was going to be but being told at 29 years old that you have
inoperable stage 4 brain cancer – a glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour – and that I had
just two years to live is something you can never prepare yourself for. Hearing
that said out loud was a moment we’ll never forget.
As you can imagine, Christmas was
cancelled. We usually love that time of year, but we didn’t even put a tree up.
Danny and I were just so shocked. We told both sets of parents, but I didn’t
want other people to know as I didn’t want to be treated differently, and I
didn’t want to upset people.
Because of my prognosis, there were
certain things that I wanted to make sure I did before it was too late. Danny
and I had got engaged in April 2021, so we decided to get married, and we
planned a low-key ceremony with family and a few friends for 6 January 2022.
But two days before, I had my first-ever seizure. Fortunately, after resting
for a day, we were able to tie the knot as planned and we had a lovely day.
The next day, we registered Sienna’s
birth, and on 8 January she had her christening in a chapel at Warrington
Hospital. That was so lovely because the staff had organised a party with food
and presents, which was so nice of them.
I started my six-week course of
chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment the following week which made me feel
really tired. But the following week, on 17 January, Sienna came home weighing
five pounds.
“It felt so surreal, like I was living two separate lives.
Things all looked fine, like we were a happy family, then I remember how poorly
I am. But it’s so special having Sienna with us, it’s like what we had
originally envisaged.”
Unfortunately, another negative thing
happened soon after. My liver function crashed, which meant that I had to stop
my chemotherapy. My liver recovered after a month, so I was able to continue
the chemotherapy.
At the start of April, I had an MRI scan
which showed that the tumour had stabilised. It had even shrunk a bit. That was
such a massive relief, and it was so nice to hear something positive.
In September 2022, I completed six months of chemotherapy. During my fourth cycle, I fainted every time I stood up, it was horrible. At first the doctors thought I was having seizures, but it was all due to low blood pressure. During my fifth cycle, I felt so nauseous and I was unable to eat anything for four days. But it was all worth it because my follow-up scan showed that the tumour was stable, and it had even shrunk a bit more so I felt really relieved.
The good news meant we could properly celebrate Christmas and enjoy the festivities with my family. Danny and I also celebrated Sienna’s first birthday on 30 November which was so lovely. Sienna’s lung repaired itself and she is completely fine, happy and healthy now. She is now in nursery and she’s loving it. It’s so nice to see her developing.
My latest scan was in the first week of January 2023. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get the new year start we wanted. The scan showed new activity in another part of my brain. ‘Luckily’ it’s really small and they’ve caught it early. I’m now back on chemotherapy; they’ve not said how long for yet because they want to see my next scan to see how well it’s worked. So far, I haven’t had any sickness, but it makes me very tired.
“This feels like a massive setback and we are heartbroken but I’ve done it before and I can definitely do this again.”
No one should have to go what we go through. We’ve made a JustGiving page to help raise money for Brain Tumour Research. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. The treatments also haven’t changed in decades.
We’ve been on loads of mini-holidays and we love going out and doing nice things to make memories together, but I need to take each day as it comes. It’s hard at times and I just break down and cry.
“I see others with GBMs who manage to live longer, so I am clinging to the idea that I might be one of those people. I’m fighting as hard as I can and I’m staying strong for my family.”
I want to help raise awareness and my family and friends are planning to do some fundraising events for Brain Tumour Research.
The
lack of government funding for brain tumours is shocking. Everyone has a brain
so more needs to be done.
Laura Mahon
January 2023
Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer... yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Laura’s story you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure
