A California college student chalked her throbbing headache and warped vision to a hangover, never suspecting the true cause was a deadly brain tumor.
Allison, 20, woke up one July morning with what she thought were the repercussions of one too many drinks she had the night before while celebrating with friends.
She said she felt like she was on a boat, unable to steady herself or keep her footing – the world around her appeared to be spinning.
But despite her concerning symptoms, she waited several days before visiting a doctor on August 2.
The throbbing pain in her head and distorted vision, particularly in her left eye, ‘got to the point that I couldn’t read the form they gave me at the doctor’s,’ she said.
Her physician in Newport Beach performed an MRI that same day and immediately noticed a mass lodged in the occipital lobe of her brain.
This visual processing center determines how we see color, depth, and distance and allows us to recognize faces.
The tumor had caused her brain to swell because it was taking up valuable space within her skull, increasing pressure, causing a blockage of the normal fluid circulation and compressing her optic nerves – which was what was causing her symptoms.
Allison was shocked: ‘I thought my doctor would tell me I have a vitamin deficiency or a headache condition. I never thought it could be a brain tumor.’
Just a week later, on August 8, she underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor, which, in this area of the brain, can impair overall function and lead to headaches, nausea, and vision changes.
Doctors performed a three-hour procedure called a craniotomy, during which, an incision is made in the scalp and part of the skull is removed to get a better view of the brain.
Surgeons do this while running advanced imaging scans of the brain to expand their field of vision and protect healthy brain tissue in the surrounding area.
Once the relevant part of the brain is exposed, the tumor is carefully extracted.
Allison’s mass measured four centimeters, roughly the size of a ping-pong ball and testing revealed the tumor was cancerous.
It was classified as stage three, meaning it was growing quickly and aggressively and posed a significant threat to other areas of the brain.
There were no signs the cancer had spread to other parts of her body, though it was affecting other regions of her brain.
To ensure any cancer cells that may had spread undetected from the original area of the brain would be killed, doctors referred her for chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Around 208,000 teens and young adults 15 to 39 are living with a brain or spinal chord tumor.
Although relatively rare, these tumors, known as central nervous system (CNS) tumors, are the most common cancer within this age group.
They are also the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among teens and young adults and the leading cause of death for individuals aged 15 to 24.
They also account for about one out of four childhood cancers. They are the most common types of tumors in children.
Reflecting on the experience now, Allison can identify some warning signs before her night out in July.
She had been experiencing headaches since December 2022, during her first year in college, but they weren’t consistent and didn’t have any clear trigger.
So she dismissed it as menstruation problems or drinking too much caffeine.
Meanwhile, about a month before her diagnosis, Allison had pins and needles on one side of her body and felt unwell, but brushed those symptoms off once they passed.
Even though the tumor was located within the brain’s visual processing center, it was likely affecting other regions of the brain, as well, like the neighboring parietal lobe that processes sensory information like tingling and numbness and, in Allison’s case, pins and needles.
She said: ‘I had a gut instinct that something wasn’t right and I’m glad that I trusted that,’ adding that the hangover that morning ‘saved my life.
‘You never think it’s going to be you, you think you have to be older or unhealthy to have health issues.’
Given doctors were able to remove the tumor entirely and Allison is otherwise healthy, the risk the cancer will come back is low, but it’s not zero.
For a while, she was in a state of anxious anticipation for the cancer to strike her a second time, but said: ‘I had to step back and realize I can’t spend my whole life being scared about that.
‘I’m really grateful that I’m here because I could have not been here. It definitely gave me a new sense of appreciation.’
She hopes her experience will influence others to be proactive about their health and get checked by a doctor when they feel something is amiss.
Alison also urged people to advocate for themselves, as people may be nervous their doctors will talk down to them or not believe them.
Allison said: ‘So often we ignore symptoms and we think we’re making it up. If I hadn’t gone in I might not have been here today.
‘If your doctor is not taking you seriously, try to find another doctor.’
