Medical student makes desperate plea after doctors dismissed brain tumour as stress
The family of a 23-year-old medical student have asked for help after he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.
Last year Alex was having dinner with friends in Liverpool where he studies when he became ill and was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery.
Diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour, his family said it was being treated as glioblastoma and that those diagnosed typically survive for 12 to 18 months.
In a JustGiving fundraiser, which you can donate to here, Alex's family explained he'd been having some unexplained problems with his sleep but doctors had reassured him there wasn't much to worry about, meaning the brain tumour diagnosis has come as a serious shock.
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Alex's dad Ian told the Independent he drove through the night from Dorset to Liverpool after the medical student was rushed to hospital and said his friends getting him there probably saved his life.
"As soon as he got there, he had seizures that would have been potentially fatal if they had not been there," Ian said.
"They would not let him go to sleep and took him to A&E. Without them, there is a chance that Alex would not be here."
The dad said Alex had been experiencing 'symptoms for a long time', describing how his son was 'incredibly tired' and started 'sleeping at inappropriate times' including during his geography GCSE.
There were also times 'when one side of his face was dropping', but after going to sleep would appear to be alright.
The family sought out medical advice, with Ian reckoning Alex went to about 50 appointments, but they were told it was most likely due to the stress of his exams and studying for a medical degree.
Told it was 'health anxiety', Alex was given CBT but was not given a scan which might have spotted the tumour much earlier.
The 23-year-old described it as 'disappointing' that repeated appointments never resulted in a scan for a long time, saying: "I would estimate I had the tumour for seven or eight years.
"All it would have taken was someone saying they were not sure what was going on and booking me for a scan. When I did have a scan, it was 5cm, a big tumour that you could not really miss."
Ian said: "The reassurance from all the medical professionals meant that the likelihood of escalation of his case was reduced.
"It is almost as if normalisation accumulates. The constant reassurance meant that Alex did not escalate it and neither did we."
Having since received surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy Alex as responded well, but his family's JustGiving fundraiser said he only had a few months of chemotherapy left on the NHS before his treatment options expired.
The NHS advised him that there's not a cure available and his best option is seeking private treatment, which is what the family are raising money for.
They've found an immunotherapy treatment in Germany which isn't available on the NHS that they'd like to get Alex onto which will cost around £200,000, at time of writing their fundraising efforts are over £156,000.
Joe Harker