A Surrey woman believed her ovarian cancer was under control after multiple treatments, only to later find it had spread to her brain in the form of 25 tumours.
Amy Van Wyk, 43, from Epsom, was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018 after experiencing persistent bloating and abdominal pain. Following treatment – including surgery and chemotherapy – she had been told her condition was stable. But, devastatingly, an unexpected seizure revealed that the disease had metastasised to her brain, into what is known as a secondary brain tumour.
Amy’s seizure occurred while on a holiday in South Africa with Marcel, her husband, who performed CPR on her until the ambulance arrived to transport her to a hospital near Cape Town. She said: “A CT scan revealed the awful truth behind the seizure – I had multiple brain tumours. My wonderful holiday turned into a whirlwind of shock, confusion, and panic as I tried to process what had happened and how I would get home.”
Amy and Marcel were able to fly home the following week, accompanied by a medic in case of further complications. Following two further scans, doctors suggested CyberKnife treatment, a non-invasive radiation therapy that uses a robotic arm (above) to deliver high doses of radiation to the tumours.
Amy said: “The thought of having 25 tumours in my brain, some nearly 4cm in size, is absolutely terrifying. It’s so frustrating because I just want to move on with my life, but I keep getting pulled back to the table.
“It’s also terrifying to trust my life to someone else and, through them, a robot.”
Amy was shocked to learn of the lack of research and treatment options for brain tumour patients. At the end of March she will find out whether the three rounds of CyberKnife have been effective. In the meantime, she will be supporting her friend Denise Sefton, a Trustee of Brain Tumour Research, as she hikes 50km across the desert to raise funds for us, as part of our Trek Sahara 2025 challenge, which we reported on last week.
To bring hope to patients like Amy, you can donate to us via Denise’s JustGiving for Brain Tumour Research.
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