Fit and healthy woman reveals the ONLY symptom she had before a tumour the size of a LEMON was found on her brain – as her 12-year battle nears a tragic end: ‘By the time it is found, it’s too late’
- Anna Tarrant, 38, has been fighting brain cancer for the past twelve years
- She was diagnosed with the disease after she had a huge seizure
- Doctors found a tumour the size of a lemon on the then 26-year-old’s brain
Anna Tarrant, 38, was diagnosed with brain cancer following a grand mal seizure when she was 26
When Anna Tarrant was in her early twenties she believed the world was hers – she was paving the way in her corporate career, had her eyes wide open for Mr Right and imagined a happy home filled with tiny ‘red-headed mini me’s’.
But these dreams began to fade in October 2010 when doctors found a cancerous tumour the size of a small lemon on the then 26-year-old’s brain.
Twelve years on and the disease continues to rule her life – only now she is ‘out of treatment options’.
The deadly growth went undiscovered for years and was slowly growing in the bubbly redhead’s brain until one day the ‘ticking time bomb’ exploded.
‘I had just been out for a 10km run, got home and then had a massive grand mal seizure in front of my flatmate,’ she told FEMAIL.
Anna woke up in hospital hours later while doctors were investigating why the fit and healthy young woman had taken such a huge turn for the worse.
The next day she found out exactly what had happened.
‘At first I thought I was dehydrated, that it wasn’t anything serious but then a man came into my hospital room with a clipboard and told me I had cancer,’ she said.
‘I was in such shock, I immediately assumed he had the wrong room, I never thoughtI would have cancer.’
Twelve years on and the disease continues to rule Anna’s life – only now she is ‘out of treatment options’
When she was first told she had cancer she assumed doctors made a mistake – the dark shadow in the top left of this picture is a growth the size of a lemon that was found in 2010
The huge seizure was Anna’s first and only symptom. Every symptom since has come from her treatments to fight the cancer which has returned three times.
‘The thing with brain cancer is that it grows so slowly that your brain can mask it by transferring the processes to another section,’ she said.
‘So by the time it is found it is often too late.’
Anna said her tumour had likely been growing steadily ‘for years’.
‘It was just a ticking time bomb. That’s the scariest thing, it is a silent killer,’ she said.
World-renowned brain surgeon Charlie Teo operated on her in November 2010 with the team cutting out as much of the tumour as possible.
‘Brain cancer isn’t just one mass though – it has tentacles which weave into the brain tissue – so it was always explained to me that they wouldn’t be able to get it all,’ Anna said.
‘They wanted to take as much as they could without trimming away too much healthy brain tissue which could lead to impairments.’
World-renowned brain surgeon Charlie Teo (pictured with partner) operated on her in November 2010 with the team cutting out as much of the tumour as possible
Since her diagnosis Anna has had multiple brain surgeries, and gone through radiotherapy and chemotherapy
Three days after the surgery Anna suffered a major edema – swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in her body’ tissues. She became dizzy, nauseous and said a teary goodbye to her parents because she thought she was going to die.
‘I was vomiting everywhere, in severe pain and the left side of my face had dropped, I thought I was going to die.
‘I was terrified, I had never felt anything like it in my life,’ she said.
As a result she has impaired brain function so quit her high flying corporate job to work and volunteer with animals
Things began to level out and Anna’s scans remained clear for three years, then the cancer returned.
In January 2014, she had a second operation with a new surgeon who took out even more border tissue.
But by May scans revealed there was still tumour tissue inside her brain so in July 2014 she went under the knife again.
Pictured here with her mum, Anna has come to terms with her mortality, but is terrified of losing physical and intellectual functions as time moves on
A biopsy revealed the cancer had become more aggressive and doctors decided they needed to do radiotherapy.
‘They can only really do radiotherapy on the brain once, and they have to be really careful about it to make sure they do it at the right time,’ Anna said.
The therapy, which Anna describes as the most horrific thing she has ever been through, went for eight weeks. It was immediately followed by chemotherapy for six months.
At last scans showed she was cancer free.
Fast forward eight years to February 2022, and a regular scan showed the cancer had come back and was growing quickly.
‘I was just out there living my best life – trying to make the most of my time before it came back. And then it did,’ Anna said.
Doctors revealed surgery would have a negative impact on Anna’s quality of life because the cancer had reached a part of her brain responsible for movement.
‘I was told they didn’t want to operate because there was a 90 per cent chance of disablement,’ she said.
Cancer specialists recommended chemotherapy and put her through a three-month cycle.
‘I was getting ready for my fourth round when scans showed it hadn’t worked. Not only had the tumour failed to shrink but it had actually grown,’ Anna said.
‘Even my specialists were shocked, it was devastating.’
Another huge blow was just around the corner for the 38-year-old when doctors revealed she was coming close to ‘being out of treatment options’.
Anna had to decide if she would take another gamble on surgery – something that could lead to permanent intellectual and physical disability.
‘I decided we had to go ahead,’ she said.
She is terrified of dying despite ‘coming to terms’ with her own mortality ‘as much as possible’.
‘The thing I am most frightened of is not knowing how I am going to deteriorate,’ she said.
‘I am so scared of losing my mental and physical capacity over time.’
The first taste she had of this was during her final brain operation in June.
‘They woke me up half way to see if I had lost any function, and I couldn’t move my left hand or leg,’ she said.
‘We terminated the operation, I told them it was enough, and I just cried,’ she said.
Following her latest surgery Anna has experienced constant numbness on her left side as well as difficulty in movement with her leg and hand
She has regained some movement of her hand – but still feels numbness along her entire left side, and her left foot drags when she is tired.
She will meet again with doctors to decide if it is worth giving chemotherapy another go or if she should focus on the quality of her life rather than trying to extend it.
As a result Anna’s friends have started a GoFundMe campaign to help her cope with the mounting cost of living, medical bills and her ‘final project’.
‘When I was first diagnosed with cancer I had this idea of creating a website, or now an app, which helps drag all the information into one place.
‘It will act as a social networking site, where carers and people with cancer or who have had cancer can connect.
‘People can put as much information as they want on their profiles, they can use it as a sounding board and add pictures of their journey or they can have no pictures and just say they have or have had a cancer.
‘I think I am uniquely placed to build this because I have a first-hand understanding, having cancer three times, of what people going through this might want and the questions they might have,’ she said.
Anna has spoken to developers and designers about her dream and says she will need to raise about $50,000 to get the app up and running.
Her fundraiser has attracted almost $20,000 in donations so far, Anna says she has been ‘blown away’ by the huge amount of support.
‘I am hoping to hit the $50,000 soon so I can get it live, any extra would be amazing so I can actually afford to live out my final days,’ she said.
Anna has $30,000 in medical debts due to numerous surgeries and treatment options, and her family has spent another $100,000 on top of that.
‘Brain cancer doesn’t have as much funding as most of the other cancers and brain surgery is very expensive,’ she said.
‘My family have done what they can and I am so lucky to have had their support.
‘But now I have to ask for a little help because I am really scared that I can’t even afford to live now that I can’t work and the bills keep flowing in.’
She was previously working a high-flying corporate job but found her limited brain function meant she could no longer handle a list of 700 clients.
‘I switched to working with animals and volunteering instead,’ she said.
Anna said she was ‘just a single girl in the big smoke trying to live out my life the best I can’
Scars show where surgeons have had to operate in order to access the cancer
‘People don’t understand how much brain disease, or cancer and the treatments impact your cognitive ability.
‘Even things like speaking or thinking about simple things – or even moving your body become extremely taxing.’
Anna said she was ‘just a single girl in the big smoke trying to live out my life the best I can’.
‘I have never been good at asking for help but my friends sat me down and begged me to let them start up this fundraiser. I just want to be able to help as many people going through this as I can,’ she said.
What are some symptoms of brain cancer?
Many people with brain cancer wont have any symptoms in the early stages – however common symptoms for people who do experience them include:
Headaches
Seizures or convulsions
Difficulty thinking, speaking or finding words
Personality or behaviour changes
Weakness, numbness or paralysis in one part or one side of the body
Loss of balance, dizziness or unsteadiness
Loss of hearing
Vision changes
Confusion and disorientation
Memory loss
Source: Hopkins Medicine
Anna is now focused on drawing attention to brain cancer, building her website and helping others
Anna hopes her website and app, which will be available to people affected by any cancer, will be up and running within the next six months.
She also hopes to ‘raise the profile’ of brain cancer after realising it has the least amount of funding of any cancer in Australia, despite being the most expensive to treat.
‘I was put on a cancer drug developed 30 years ago, I don’t want other people to have to go through this, especially people who have to do it alone,’ she said.
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