Suspected menopause – had brain cancer

On 6 September 2021, single mother Sonia Scott (48) from Bracknell in England received the shocking news that turned her life upside down.

A few weeks earlier, she had been sent to the hospital for a check-up, after she had suffered a seizure.

The doctors took an MRI scan. Just six days later, she was urgently summoned, according to the Jam Press news agency.

What the single mother thought was a sign of menopause turned out to be incurable cancer.

– I knew something was wrong, but I never thought it was a brain tumour, Sonia tells the news agency Need to Know.

Aggressive with spread

Back at the hospital, the 48-year-old was told that she had to undergo surgery to take a biopsy of the brain mass.

According to The pocket doctor biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small piece of tissue is removed from the tissue in which disease is suspected, for examination.

The operation was interrupted three times before the biopsy was taken on 22 October. Just six weeks after the MRI results.

After the operation and the biopsy, the single mother was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma – which means that the tumor is aggressive and growing fast.

Glioblastom is, according to Store Medical Lexicon, a very aggressive form of cancer that originates from glial cells in the brain, a type of cell that functions as support cells for the nervous system.

– Just over 200 new cases of glioblastoma are registered per year in Norway. Glioblastoma shows increasing frequency and worsening prognosis with increasing age, the encyclopedia writes.

– Four weeks to go

According to the doctors, the brain tumor spreads by growing tentacles that invade the brain tissue. It is therefore aggressive and grows quickly.

After the brain tumor was discovered, doctors estimated that Sonia had only 12 to 24 months to live, if she accepted treatment.

She has so far had 33 rounds of radiotherapy and seven weeks of intensive chemotherapy.

– I was initially told that I had 18 months left, but the last time I went for a consultation I was told that I only had four weeks left, says Sonia before she continues:

Fortunately, it’s been twelve weeks since I got that message, but it scared me.

Spend time with the children

The children Samuel (22), Benito (20), Katie (10) and William (8) were not allowed to join the hospital due to corona.

– My older guys have been fantastic. They have taken it easy, even though it must be so tough for them. The younger children know that “mum has an illness in her head”, but that’s it, she tells the news agency.

Sonia tries to be as open with them as she can, saying this to explain why she’s so tired – or why she’s talking strangely.

– When the time approaches, I will tell them more. But I don’t want to scare them or make them worry too soon.

Alenemora plans to take them with her to the hospice when the time comes for her to be admitted.

– Then I will tell them that this is a place where people come to die. It might help them understand, she says.

– Requires a lot of strength

She describes it as painful, lonely and difficult to stand in this situation.

– As a single mother, I have always been independent, and it takes a lot of mental strength for me to ask for help, she says.