Lauren Papadopoulos Green says her family thought she threw her dinner over her brother for "attention" – only for an MRI to reveal the arm spasm was caused by a brain tumour. The 31-year-old from Ashford, Surrey, was diagnosed with a type of non-cancerous brain tumour called a schwannoma in February 2013, after her left arm spasmed so severely that it caused her to throw her dinner over her 13-year-old brother sat next to her.
Family dismissed first spasm as attention-seeking
Lauren, who was 18 at the time, said: "My left hand started spasming out of the blue. The first time I fully remember it happening, I was eating dinner with my family and my hand spasmed and I threw my dinner over my brother who was sat next to me. He thought I was just messing about and my mum thought I was doing it for attention basically - no one took it seriously."
The spasms continued to progress to the point where they were happening in both of her arms and legs. She said: "That [the arm spasm] kept happening here and there and then it started happening to my legs as well. I was in school at the time and I kicked the chair of the person in front of me. As it got worse it was happening daily - it moved to both my arms, both my legs. I didn't have an explanation for it; I just put my head in the sand with it really."
MRI revealed tumour and 5% survival chance
When she woke up one morning and had completely lost the movement and sensation in her right arm, she was rushed to hospital. Lauren said: "The spasm was progressively getting worse and then in February [2013] I woke up and my right arm was basically paralysed. It just wasn't moving - it was as if my brain wasn't sending the signals to my arm to move. If I ran a bath, I wasn't able to tell if the water temperature was hot for example. I remember my parents trying to do a pin prick test - they would put a drawing pin in my finger to see if I could feel it and I couldn't."
An MRI scan revealed she had a schwannoma, and she received the devastating news that she had just a 5% chance of survival. She said: "The doctors told me I had a 5% chance of surviving this. It was a real shock, but I don't think I was really taking it in. They said that if the tumour doesn't kill you, then the operation is likely going to. My parents decided it was better to at least try the operation."
Recovery and recurrence
Lauren underwent surgery to remove the tumour a month later in March 2013 and went on to make a full recovery. She said: "At the time it was fully successful against all the odds and I went on to make a full recovery. After that I had to learn to walk again, because the tumour had made my arm stop working and then made my legs stop working in the lead up to the operation. Near enough straight away I was mostly back to normal and I started living my life again. I went to college, went to university and ended up building my career."
Despite making a full recovery, Lauren continued to experience the spasms, which are now classed as dystonia – a condition describing uncontrolled and sometimes painful muscle movements. At what she believed would be her final ever MRI scan, Lauren received the news that the tumour had grown back in January 2023.
Lauren said: "It was a massive shock - it was more of a shock [than the first time] if anything because I'd gone thinking that I was being signed off and that I was never going to have to deal with this again. This time I am more of an adult, I have a full-on life, a career, responsibilities. This time has been a lot harder than it was back in the day."
Watch and wait approach
Lauren is now on a "watch and wait" treatment approach, meaning her tumour is regularly monitored for signs of growth. If it does show growth, she may have to undergo surgery to remove it. She said: "I'm just being monitored and I just have to find out at each appointment what happens next basically. I'll continue being monitored and surgery is likely if it gets to the point that it needs to be removed. I'm in a much better place with it mentally - I haven't let it takeover my whole life, I have to live my life, otherwise what am I going to do, sit in bed and cry all day? That's how I do feel mentally, but I can't let it be like that. I'm 31 now - I have to live my life and carry out."
Lauren is now encouraging other people who feel like something is wrong with their body to "advocate for themselves". She said: "If something doesn't feel right, then you should speak up. If you don't feel right in yourself then make sure you're getting checked out. Don't always seek medical advice online - speak to an actual person. Advocate for your own health and make sure that you are being listened to."
A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an abnormal, uncontrollable way. Symptoms vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected. Common 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.
