Romford woman appeals for treatment after suffering six tumours in eight years
Laura after cyberknife radio therapy. Picture: Laura Fava - Credit: Laura Fava
A Romford mum-of-two has told of the trauma of having six brain tumours in eight years.
Laura Fava, 52, was first diagnosed with two meningiomas in 2012. After having the first two removed, she spent the next five years without any sign of another. But in 2017 at a routine scan, another was noticed on her motor strip – the part of the brain that controls the limbs.
After surgeons operated on the third one, Laura woke up paralysed from the neck down apart from one right arm.
Slowly she started regaining movement and after four months she was back at work as a personal assistant for Natwest Bank.
With scans every three months to follow, in February 2018 it was discovered she had another on her motor strip.
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After another operation, Laura was again left paralysed.
Why the tumours keep reappearing is unknown. Laura explained: “The doctors don’t know why meningiomas reoccur in some people more than others, only that they appear more frequently for women in their forties and fifties.”
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Two years later, Laura has still not regained movement of her limbs.
She is also faced with another two tumours that she has been told she cannot have removed, as the brain has been through too much trauma.
With surgery now out of the question, Laura had been raising money to get different treatments unavailable on the NHS.
She tried trial drugs to minimise progesterone levels, as doctors think that progesterone exacerbates the tumours.
She also had cyberknife surgery, the most cutting-edge radiotherapy treatment available, only done in the UK at St Barts Trust and another Manchester trust but the meningiomas showed no reduction.
Laura reached her initial target £11,000 for non-NHS treatment and now having been told it is unlikely she will walk again, she is continuing to raise the funds for her rehabilitation therapy, neurophysio and adaptations to her home to help her live with her limited movement.
Although the pandemic stopped regular appointments, Laura says the lockdown has not been all that bad, saying having her two children in their twenties around the house for help and support has been a godsend.
Help Laura’s fight here.
