Woman Had 11 Years of Chemotherapy Before Learning She Never Had Cancer

A woman who underwent chemotherapy for 11 years after being told she had terminal brain cancer has discovered she never had the disease.

Becky Jones was 21 when she was diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma at University Hospital Coventry after suffering severe migraines. She says she was told she had only months to live and would need to continue taking the chemotherapy drug temozolomide to stay alive.

Now 34, Jones has learned that she was actually suffering from tumefactive demyelination, an inflammatory condition affecting the brain which can be treated with steroids. Independent analysis by neurosurgeons and radiologists concluded that she had never had brain cancer.

The treatment had a profound effect on her adult life. Jones experienced persistent nausea, stomach pain, mouth ulcers and severe fatigue, while fears about infection meant she missed family gatherings and other social events. Her driving licence was also affected and she says her ambition to pursue a career in policing was curtailed.

Her case forms part of a much wider investigation at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. More than 40 patients are taking legal action over allegations of prolonged or unnecessary cancer treatment linked to retired consultant oncologist Professor Ian Brown. Preliminary findings from a Royal College of Physicians review found that 15 of 20 cases examined were considered “unsatisfactory overall”.

The review also raised concerns about patients receiving prolonged courses of temozolomide with little or no evidence of benefit and questioned the oversight surrounding the prescribing of oral chemotherapy for periods stretching to 10 or 15 years.

The Trust said it has introduced stronger oversight of temozolomide prescribing and that patients receiving the drug when Brown retired have been reviewed by senior clinicians. It is awaiting the full Royal College of Physicians report, which is expected later this autumn.

For Jones, however, the findings cannot return the years she spent believing she was living with terminal cancer. Her case raises serious questions not only about the original diagnosis, but about how such a diagnosis and treatment could apparently continue for more than a decade without being successfully challenged.

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