A “BEAUTIFUL” 19-year-old girl died just months after suffering from persistent headaches “while studying hard at university”.
Courtney Hector, from Bracknell in Berkshire, died in December 2022, less than a year after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Courtney Hector was diagnosed with a brain tumour in her first year at university
The student had suffered severed headaches
The student first battled headaches shortly after starting her law degree at Birmingham City University in 2021.
She then started losing her sight in both eyes, her hearing and control over the left side of her body.
Courtney’s mum Kim said: “I would have done anything to take my beautiful baby girl’s pain away from her.
“I would have swapped places with her. I would have done anything.
“So I want to raise awareness, to help others experiencing this.
“If I can help just one person, I feel like I am doing my best for Courtney.
“Please get headaches checked out if they linger.”
Courtney went to A&E several times after suffering from severe headaches.
In January 2022 a scan picked up a small growth on the student’s brain.
She was given steroids to reduce the swelling – but eventually needed surgery to reduce the pressure inside her skull.
Courtney’s life seemed to go back to normal after the op went smoothly.
But in March 2022 she started to feel unwell again, losing sight in both eyes.
She underwent biopsies, radiography and punishing bouts of chemotherapy – to no avail.
Courtney lost control of the left side of her body, developed type 1 diabetes and began losing her hearing.
She was rushed to hospital and put in intensive care after the cancer spread to the top of her spine in November 2022.
The 19-year-old fell into a coma before passing away on December 3, 2022.
‘BRAVE DAUGHTER’
Kim said: “She fought and fought and fought. Since my best friend left me, I feel numb every day.
“I really don’t know what to do without her, but I’m trying. My beautiful brave daughter was so selfless and kind.
“She would want me, her family and friends to all continue to live life and do everything that she can no longer do.”
Kim is now planning a skydive in May to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Courtney’s family and friends have already collected £17,000 through walks, coffee mornings and race nights.
Kim said: “More time and money needs to go into the research of brain tumours so other families do not have to experience this senseless loss my family and I are going through.
“I can’t believe I am doing it – and I don’t think Courtney would believe it either. I don’t like flying and I’m petrified of heights.”
She added: “You know your body and your parents know you. If you have a gut feeling that it could be serious, you need to push.
“You need to make sure you are seen by a doctor.”
To donate to Kim’s skydive, visit her JustGiving page.
Six brain tumour symptoms
1. Getting irritated easily
Changes in personality can be an early warning sign of brain tumours, with one in three patients suffering a change, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
The disease can cause people to become irritated more easily, as well as aggressive, confused or forgetful.
Losing motivation, depression, loss of social inhibitions, anxiety, mood swings and difficulty planning, organising or identifying emotions can also be a symptom.
As the tumour grows, it can press on brain cells around it, affecting how they work.
Personality changes are most common when the tumour is in the frontal lobe, which controls your personality and emotions.
2. Growth spurts
Brain tumours can affect the pituitary gland — a part of the brain that makes hormones, including the ones that cause growth.
In rare cases, this means brain cancer can cause people to quickly increase in height.
The strange symptom is particularly subtle in children, who may be expected to go through spurts in adolescence as part of puberty.
Tumours can also cause other hormonal changes like delayed puberty, changes in periods, increased sex drive or unexplained weight gain or loss, according to Brain Tumour Research.
3. Difficulty making facial expressions
The disease can also lead to nerve damage, which may cause patients to struggle when making facial expressions.
They may be unable to smile, frown or move their face in their normal manner when speaking.
Nerve paralysis can also cause the face to be fixed in a particular position or cause weakness or drooping on one side.
4. Voices in your head
Some brain cancers can cause symptoms that might seem more like a mental health issue than a physical illness.
Tumours on the temporal lobe can cause you to hear voices in your head, according to Cancer Research UK.
Disease in the area can also cause short-term memory loss and difficulty with hearing and speaking, the charity said.
5. Struggling to read
The disease often impacts patients’ brain function, impacting their ability to think or read.
Dr Donald O’Rourke, a neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine, said: “Some symptoms are really destructive in the sense that people are wide awake and may look completely alert or normal.
“This is particularly common with tumours in the midbrain.
“The two sides of your brain are connected, and they ‘talk’ to each other in order for you to do things like think, write, and remember.
“We really take that communication for granted. When a tumour disrupts the communication, it’s devastating.”
6. Needing the loo more often
Brain tumours can cause changes to the endocrine system — a network of glands and organs that use hormones to control a range of bodily functions.
In some cases, this can make people feel they need to go to the toilet more often, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
It can also impact tiredness, sensitivity to the cold, thirst, diabetes, fertility and erectile dysfunction.
Tumours on the spinal cord can also lead to incontinence in some cases.