A marathon runner who blamed her headaches on not drinking enough water while training discovered she had a brain tumour as large as an orange. Emily Bahan, 25, began experiencing headaches in January 2025 while preparing for the Edinburgh marathon.
Training and Early Symptoms
Emily, a nuclear course leader from Whitehaven, Cumbria, said she attributed the 'dull' headaches to dehydration from her intense training schedule. She was strength training three times a week and running distances of up to 24km (15 miles) multiple times weekly.
She increased her daily water intake from one litre to between two and three litres, but the headaches, occurring up to three times per week, did not ease. Emily said: "I started experiencing headaches at the start of the year and I thought it was because I was dehydrated. I'd never really been good at drinking enough water. I was training to run the Edinburgh marathon in May 2026 so my training had gone up quite significantly."
Seizures and MRI Diagnosis
On March 21, Emily was rushed to hospital after a seizure believed to have been triggered by norovirus, a year after a seizure in March 2025 thought to be caused by the flu. To rule out epilepsy, she was referred for an MRI scan and was told she would not be able to run the marathon.
The scan revealed a 4.5cm brain tumour, the size of an orange. Emily said: "When I came out of the MRI the radiologist told me that they'd found something on my scan. They sent me down to A&E so a doctor could speak to me - at that point alarm bells rang because you usually just get your MRI results in the post, or at a follow-up appointment."
Surgery and Recovery
Emily underwent surgery on August 7 to remove as much of the grade two diffuse astrocytoma as possible. She said: "Where the tumour is located it can't be completely removed because it's near the movement line for my left side. One of the side effects could have been paralysis on my left arm or my left leg. When I woke up from surgery I was paralysed completely on my left side - I had to learn to walk again and learn to use my arm again."
In January 2027, she will have an MRI scan to reveal how much of the tumour was removed. She will begin taking medication at the start of October that doctors hope will slow the tumour's growth.
Advice to Others
Emily, who ran a half marathon in September 2025, urged others to 'trust their gut' if something feels wrong. She said: "If something doesn't seem right then always trust your gut. I wish that I'd pushed for an MRI the first time and not waited another whole year before it [the seizure] happened again. I'm just so lucky that I've had the best support network to help me get through this - my family, friends and boyfriend have been my rocks in this and I couldn't have done it without them."
A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies abnormally. Symptoms include headaches, seizures, feeling sick, vision or speech problems, and progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body. Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, according to the NHS.
