A woman has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer after a suitcase fell on her head during a train journey. Lauren Macpherson, 29, was travelling home to Cardiff from a music festival last August when a 16kg case dropped from overhead storage.
She was taken to hospital for checks on potential spinal injury or concussion, but a CT scan revealed a shadow on her brain. Further tests confirmed an oligodendroglioma tumour, with doctors giving her a life expectancy of 10 to 12 years.
Ms Macpherson had experienced symptoms including extreme fatigue, memory problems, emotional dysregulation, stomach pain and headaches for two years, which she attributed to her ADHD. She described the diagnosis as a relief, saying it validated her feeling that something was wrong.
She is now planning a wedding to her boyfriend Zak and a trip to Italy for her 30th birthday. She has raised over £2,800 for Brain Tumour Research by walking 10,000 steps a day, and remains hopeful about new treatments that could extend her life.
