WATCH: Woman who has brain tumour is told to "go home and watch Netflix"
Is Netflix and chill the cure to cancer?
Being sick and taking yourself to the doctor is a very brave decision as most try to "fight through the pain".
Finding out that you have a brain tumour can bring a rollercoaster of emotions but being told that you should "go how and watch Netflix" is unheard of.
This was a reality for Lisa Thomas,46, went to hospital when headaches left her in excruciating pain - but says she wasn’t taken seriously.
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Lisa had been suffering a long while before she decided to take a trip to the emergency room seeking sound, medical advice.
Despite the discomfort, she alleges a junior medic told her to “go home, rest and watch Netflix" to relax.
But, after paying for a private scan, it was revealed her headaches were in fact due to an aggressive brain tumour called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
"The mum-of-two said: "I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a hammer - I had never felt a pain like it. But the junior doctor told me it’s nothing serious and that I should go home, rest and watch Netflix to help me relax."
The prognosis of the aggressive tumour was just 12 to 18 months.
Lisa said: "At first, I couldn’t look at my two boys without crying, imagining them growing up without me being around.
"But my family were incredibly supportive. My parents even sold their house in Scotland and moved to be closer to us."
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A few days after her diagnosis, surgeons at Southampton General Hospital removed the tumour thus saving Lisa's life
She also followed standard procedure and had eight weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy followed following the surgery then had scans every three months to check for re-growth.
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Reflecting on her journey, she added: "I wanted to wait until I was clear to share my story - to help offer hope to at least one other person at a time when they may really need it.”
We hope that others use this story to take their health seriously and not just "go home and watch Netflix" if something is off.
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Image courtesy of Lisa Thomas/Brain Tumour Research