Medical Negligence

Brain tumour survivor tells his extraordinary story

Steve was out cycling when he suddenly suffered from a seizure and had to be rushed to hospital in the midst of a pandemic.

24 March 2021

Client photo - Steve Ryder

Our client, Steve has recently been working with the charity, Brain Tumour Research to help raise funds for continuous and sustainable vital scientific research into brain tumours and their causes.

Steve was diagnosed with two secondary brain tumours and two bleeds on his brain after suffering a seizure while out cycling in July 2020. On Saturday 11 July, Steve was out on his bike and began to struggle. He stopped and rested his bike up against a wall and sat himself down. He started fitting and felt that he had lost all control of movement in his limbs. Steve was luckily assisted by a passer by who happened to be an epilepsy nurse. An ambulance was called and Steve was taken to hospital where he underwent tests and a CT scan. Following this, it was confirmed that he had two brain tumours and two bleeds on his brain. The news understandably shocked him and he immediately began thinking the worst and wondered how he was going to break the news to his family.

Steve later had an MRI scan and his case was referred to Leeds Centre for Neurosciences at Leeds General Infirmary. Following an MDT, Steve was informed that the tumours could be treated. Steve underwent a craniotomy on 24 July 2020 which took seven hours and resulted in 57 staples in his head. Scans following the operation showed that both tumours had been completely removed which was a huge relief to Steve and his family.

Samples of the tumours were sent to histology and after a 10 day wait, Steve received a call from his consultant with the shocking news that he had stage 4 melanoma and that the tumours were secondary but no primary tumours had been identified. It later transpired that Steve had received incorrect results from a histology report on a mole that was removed from his chest in May 2018. He was initially told that the mole was non-cancerous, it was re-analysed and cancerous melanoma cells were, in fact, discovered.

Steve started a course of immunotherapy on 7 September 2020 and finished this in November 2020. Steve recently started a second cycle of immunotherapy in February 2021 and undergoes regular assessments and testing to monitor the progression of the cancer.

Steve’s story was also in the Mirror and Yorkshire Live. You can read more about Steve’s story on the Brain Tumour Research website here.

If you'd like to speak to one of our medical negligence specialists, contact our team of experts today.

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