Sarah-Jane Doherty, a 24-year-old from Doncaster, Yorkshire, awaiting brain surgery for a golf ball-sized tumour, endured an eight-hour phone ordeal as her mother sobbed while fighting for a holiday refund. Diagnosed with a suspected grade 2 glioma in June 2026 after a year of misdiagnosis, Doherty had booked a £1,100 trip to Ayia Napa through loveholidays, with flights via British Airways.
Misdiagnosis and Discovery
Doherty first fell ill in July 2025, experiencing extreme fatigue, depressive episodes, psychosis, hallucinations, and mood swings. Professionals misdiagnosed her with bipolar disorder, prescribing anti-psychotic medications that masked seizure symptoms—electric shock-like sensations down her left side. After a severe headache led to a CT scan at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, doctors suspected a brain bleed. An MRI the next morning revealed a 3cm by 4cm tumour.
“They told me in a bay of four people by myself that I had a brain tumour, and that they think it is a glioma. I was just distraught, absolutely hysterical,” Doherty said. “I rang my mum straight away.”
Refund Battle with loveholidays
On diagnosis day, Doherty contacted loveholidays to cancel her holiday and request a refund, but her travel insurance had lapsed. “The first time we called they didn’t want to know at all. They didn’t even express empathy,” she said. The company initially offered only £62 back. She submitted two medical letters—one from a hospital consultant and another from her GP—but loveholidays rejected both, citing one as a sick note and the other as supporting a travel insurance claim.
After her TikTok video went viral, loveholidays’ CEO office reached out. Her mother spent over eight hours on the phone, being shuffled between loveholidays and British Airways. “She started crying on the phone because the way people were speaking to her was just… not what she needed to hear,” Doherty said. The company offered £300, then £600, which her mother refused, before finally granting a full refund.
“If it wasn’t for the TikTok, nothing would have been done,” Doherty added.
Official Statements
A loveholidays spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about Sarah’s diagnosis… We have refunded her in full for her holiday, and we have also explained how she can request a refund for the seat purchase she made directly with her airline. As a travel agent, we are bound by the cancellation policies of our airline and hotel partners, many of which do not provide refunds when customers are unable to travel due to illness. For this reason, we always strongly recommend that customers take out travel insurance.”
A British Airways spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear of our customer’s experience and our teams have been in touch.” The airline stated the matter was resolved, but Doherty reported she had yet to receive the refund or further communication.
