BEN Cornforth thought he was having “the worst hangover possible” when he fell over and started mixing up his words after a night of drinking.
But he was rushed to hospital after his concerned friends called 111.
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Ben thought he was having the worst hangover possible when he felt dizzy and confused after a night out Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
But it was a tumour lurking in his brain, which was later revealed to be cancerous Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
There, it was revealed that a mass in the 21-year-old’s brain – which has likely been there all his life – was the cause of his symptoms.
Ben, who works in hospitality, was at his university house in Nottingham in February 2023 when he began feeling confused and dizzy.
He said: “I was just at home watching TV with my uni housemates one Friday night when suddenly I couldn’t follow what was happening on the show and couldn’t speak.
“I felt totally out of it and dizzy. When I went to the toilet, the room felt like it was spinning and I fell over.
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“I lived with my girlfriend at the time, so I said to her, ‘I don’t want to alarm you, but I can’t talk’.
“But I was speaking slowly and I wasn’t coherent. I was also mixing up words.
“At first, I tried to hide the issues because I’d been drinking the night before, so I thought I was just having the worst hangover possible.”
However, Ben’s friends spotted his speech issues and became concerned he was having a stroke, causing them to call 111.
Ben’s friends grew concerned at his symptoms and called 111 Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
Ben after undergoing surgery to remove the tumour in his brain Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
Ben was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was told that he’d have to stay the night following a CT scan.
The now-24-year-old, from Birmingham, said: “When we were called into a room, I was told there was something on my brain that wasn’t supposed to be there.
“Doctors suspected it was a cyst, so I called my parents so they could travel up to Nottingham – it was really difficult having to phone my mum to tell her what had happened.
“I had an MRI two days later.”
Two weeks later, Ben was told he had a benign tumour on his language centre, which had caused a suspected seizure – bringing on the speech issues and confusion.
He was told the tumour had likely been there for most of his life and that the safest thing to do was to leave it.
He added: “The fact it was always there didn’t make a massive difference; it was just good news at this point, given how bad it could have been.”
Ben was given anti-seizure medication and went back to university to try and carry on with life as normal – but he soon suffered two more seizures.
Ben was told he had stage 4 brain cancer after his surgery Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
Ben at his graduation post-treatment Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
A follow-up scan revealed activity in the tumour, meaning he would need brain surgery.
In May 2023, Ben underwent a six-hour craniotomy surgery, a procedure where a portion of the skull is temporarily removed to access the brain – during which he had to be awake.
He said: “They said they’d take as much of the tumour as possible, but they couldn’t take anything off my brain, so they got as close to the brain as they could.
“They would prod a piece of the tumour with the logic that if I stopped talking, they couldn’t cut that.
“The surgery took five to six hours and I was asleep for the first part when they were preparing to take the tumour out and then I was woken up and was conscious for two hours.”
Ben’s tumour was sent off for a biopsy.
He suffered some side effects after the surgery, including being unable to read or watch TV as he “couldn’t follow what was going on”.
He also struggled with conversations and frequently asked people to repeat themselves.
Ben is now off treatment and feeling ‘happy and healthy’ Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
Ben turned to running and recently completed the London marathon Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
Doctors assured him all the issues were normal and they subsided after a week.
However, two weeks after op, Ben’s biopsy results revealed he had stage 4 brain cancer and he would need six weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
It wasn’t until he moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, to be closer to his family, that Ben really understood the severity of his cancer.
After six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, Ben had to take daily chemotherapy tablets for a year.
He said: “My whole process going through treatment and with recovery was to always have things as normal as possible.
“I know I’ll need more treatment in future, but for now I am off treatment and feeling happy and healthy.
“I try to make the most of every day.”
Ben has since joined Teenage Cancer Trust’s Youth Advisory Group which helps to shape the support provided to young people.
Typical symptoms of a brain tumour can include getting irritated easily and struggling to read
Ben is raising money for the Teenage cancer Trust Credit: Jam Press/Teenage Cancer Trust
He also recently completed the London Marathon, raising more than £10,000 for the charity that helped him during and after treatment.
Ben added: “After being diagnosed, I would have never imagined I could have done it, but it felt incredible at the end.
“I think because being active has been just a big part of dealing with my diagnosis, it felt like a celebration day of the whole last three years with all of my friends and family.
“It also felt so much better doing things through the charity and knowing how the money will now be spent rather than just running myself.
“I wanted to run and fundraise for Teenage Cancer Trust because of my own experiences but also because being a part of the Youth Advisory Group has reinforced to me how important the charity is and the value in the work they do.”
You can donate to Ben’s fundraising page here.
