By Elizabeth Hunter via SWNS
A woman who was told by doctors she was “stressed” and to breathe into a paper bag was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Gabrielle Renee, 50, first saw her GP in 2019, after experiencing déjà vu, confusion, and visual disturbances.
Doctors told her were a result of years of stress, following family illness and a marriage breakdown.
She was sent home and told to breathe into a paper bag, to seek counseling – and doctors even suggested that her extreme visual disturbances of zigzags, dots, and people appearing cartoon-like were down to migraines.
The mom of two from Knebworth was relieved there was nothing to worry about – until an MRI in February 2022 revealed an astrocytoma in her brain.
“I felt relieved,” said Gabrielle.
“I thought to myself; thank goodness it’s nothing serious.
“Years went by and I felt as though the betablockers I was given for the migraines weren’t doing anything.
“When I saw the GP again, they said the symptoms I’d been describing were seizures and I instantly knew it was more serious than first thought.”
Whilst awaiting a treatment plan, in September 2022 she married Alina, at Stevenage Registry Office.
Five months later, in February 2023 the newlywed had surgery at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge which removed almost 95% of her tumor which was cancerous.
Radiotherapy followed, but she was unable to complete chemotherapy after she became too unwell to continue.
Gabrielle who works as a hearing therapist and lip-reading teacher, said: “The whole experience was hugely traumatic.
“The pain from the operation was excruciating and the high dose of steroids I had to take changed my personality. I talked non-stop, walked obsessively and felt depressed.”
In July, a scan confirmed a change in her tumor.
As she remains on a ‘watch and wait’ Gabrielle, Alina and their two children are taking on the Brain Tumour Research 99 Miles in November challenge. Participants have the full month to complete the distance in any way they choose.
She said: “Together, we’ve covered 45 miles so far.
“And find that I can cover at least a mile every morning by pacing the train station platform as I always get there early.
“When I was given my diagnosis, I knew I wanted to support people with all types of brain tumors.
“Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
“If I can help to raise awareness of how little is invested in research into the disease, then I will do that for as long as I can.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Gabrielle’s story is sadly not unfamiliar, one in three people knows someone affected by a brain tumor.
“If we are to understand this disease, there must be adequate funding into research brain tumors.
“It’s with her support and generosity of people such as Gabrielle and her whole family, that will help us one step closer to finding kinder treatments and eventually a cure for all types of brain tumors.”
