Gerrard Kaonga
A British man has recalled sitting in a stroke ward after an episode and being told his worsening symptoms were simply in his head.
Brit Matthew Collins has explained that he had a difficult time getting a diagnosis from doctors for months despite experiencing debilitating symptoms.
He said he first went to the doctors with complaints of severe headaches, seizures, temporary blindness and even suffered a stroke.
He said while sitting in a stroke ward, his fears were still being dismissed.
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He said: “When I was in the stroke ward, I kept telling them I felt I was getting worse, and they said it was just all in my head. They just said I was anxious.”
However, months later, the then-35-year-old returned to the hospital for a CT scan, and it was revealed that he had an aggressive Glioblastoma brain tumor.
Collins said it was five months between first reporting his symptoms and his diagnosis back in October 2023.
He has said the whole experience was ‘incredibly frustrating’ which sounds like quite the understatement.
While the prognosis for glioblastoma is generally 12 to 18 months, Collins has outlived these predictions thanks to treatments not available on the NHS. These privately funded treatments included immunotherapy, and the fact they are not available on the NHS is something Collins says needs to change.
After his diagnosis, the Welsh man wrote an article for the Wales Online publication as a goodbye letter to his family and friends.
Writing in November 2023, he said: “I knew that before I died two things would happen to me. That number one: I would regret my entire life, and number two: I would want to live my life over again.
“Today I received the news I’d been told to expect: terminal stage four brain cancer (glioblastoma). I’ve had the tumor removed, and with radiotherapy and treatment, the average life expectancy is around 12 to 18 months.
"There are anomalies, but I’ve been pretty average in everything my entire life. I suppose now is as good a time as any for me to step it up.”
However, years have passed since this article, and in an article published this month in the Independent, he reaffirmed his determination to get any treatments possible that could help extend his life.
As well as spending time with his partner, Claire, and his friends and family, he continues to research therapies and lifestyle changes that can help him on his cancer journey.