Bradford woman wrote off two cars before shock brain tumour diagnosis

Jennifer Bradshaw, 28, had two seizures whilst at the wheel of her car but was told by professionals that her severe headaches, noise sensitivity, and sickness were just related to her panic attacks – before being diagnosed with a brain tumour months later.

She now wants to raise awareness of the disease by sharing her story.

Jennifer, who was an early years practitioner said it all started when she would get a strange feeling where she couldn’t respond or move for a few seconds at a time.

“I wasn’t even able to reply when someone was talking to me. This happened another time when I was behind the wheel of the car and my partner had to grab the wheel and steer us onto a smaller road – it was really terrifying but I kept being told nothing was really that wrong with me,” she said.

But although Jennifer kept going back to her GP, her symptoms were put down to anxiety and migraines. She was also put on a waiting list for an oncology appointment but she was told it would be a few months before she was seen.

Within a couple of months, Jennifer had two seizures whilst she was driving which wrote off both vehicles. The first was when she crashed into some railings near a roundabout and fortunately no one was injured, but on the second occasion, she collided with another car.

When she went to hospital to be checked over, she was sent home the next day with painkillers.

As time went on, Jennifer said her symptoms intensified even further.

She found herself rocking backwards and forwards sitting on the floor with her eyes closed and keeping a bucket to be sick into near to her at all times. She had a telephone consultation with the GP who prescribed more migraine tablets. But, as she got more unwell and the headache also got increasingly unbearable, they called an ambulance.

After an initial check, Jennifer stood up and then went very dizzy, started to choke and blacked out.

She was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary where she was largely unresponsive for a couple of hours. Matty and Jennifer’s mum told the medical team about her migraines and oncology referral and Jennifer was immediately taken for a CT scan.

Jennifer said: “I was scared and worried about what was going to happen to me – the diagnosis is not what I expected at all. I am so fortunate to have been cared for by amazing staff who made me feel as comfortable as possible, especially in those first few hours after my surgery.”

The scan found a large mass on her brain so she was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary for an MRI scan, A few days later, Jennifer had a 13-hour operation which removed around 70% of the tumour which was soon confirmed to be a Grade 2 astrocytoma.

Jennifer said: “I was in utter shock that I now had cancer. I couldn’t understand how this had happened to me. I was scared, confused and lonely as no one could understand how I felt now everything in my life was suddenly completely different.

“Losing my hair was a major deal – one day as I arrived at work, a large chunk of it just fell out which was really shocking and upsetting.”

Jennifer heard about The Brain Tumour Charity through a friend and she has found the organisation’s specialist information, as well as the real-life stories it shares, to be helpful in understanding how others have handled a diagnosis.

Jennifer said: “Everything has changed – no more cars or driving, my memory is terrible and I lose my temper so easily when I never used to. But the people who have supported me have got me to where I am today.”

The Brain Tumour Charity offers help advice and support for people affected by a diagnosis.

Alex Lochrane, Chief Executive at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We are so pleased that, Jennifer has made the most of our services. Providing emotional support alongside help understanding the grim practicalities of navigating a brain tumour diagnosis are absolutely essential. We’re here to help anyone who is affected by a diagnosis in a number of ways to suit their needs."