A university student who dismissed her persistent headaches as exam stress received the devastating news that she had a cancerous brain tumour. Annalise Donelon, 20, known as Annie, visited her GP on multiple occasions, with doctors reportedly attributing her symptoms to a B12 deficiency.
However, injections failed to bring any relief, and the chemical engineering student said her headaches intensified until they felt “like a bandsaw” was being cut down one side of her face. Eventually, a CT scan uncovered a 5cm high-grade brain tumour inside one of the fluid-filled cavities in her brain, which was causing the agonising headaches.
The Newcastle University student underwent surgery to remove the majority of the tumour, followed by six weeks of radiotherapy, during which she lost all her hair. Her mum Lisa Donelon, 49, from near Bury, Manchester, who also has 14 year old twin daughters, said: “She was very tired all of the time, and got the B12 injection, but she did not feel any different.
“Then we thought it might be hormones, migraines, or stress due to her uni exam period. After the CT scan, I got the call that they had found a lesion – I can’t even describe what that feels like.
View 4 ImagesAnnalise Donelon (left) went to her GP several times for a diagnosis(Image: SWNS)
“Annie just wants her life back, she wants to go back to university – so we’re always looking for the next trial or treatment. There are just no words for what’s happening, you just feel numb – and then you feel angry, then you feel sad.” Annie first started experiencing fatigue and headaches in late 2024, with her condition deteriorating in October 2025, despite trying various migraine medications and hormone treatments. Lisa said: “She knew in herself that something wasn’t right.”, reports Lancs Live.
A second trip to A&E ultimately led to a diagnosis. Lisa said: “She was in a lot of pain from headaches, caused by pressure. There was a large tumour in one ventricle, which was blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and causing the pressure to build.”
Annie underwent an 11-hour craniotomy to remove the tumour at Salford Royal Hospital on October 22, followed by a six-week course of radiotherapy, as the tumour was deeply embedded within her brain.
Follow-up scans have been unable to confirm whether the tumour has been fully eradicated, according to her family. They are now exploring clinical trials and private international treatments unavailable on the NHS, in the hope that Annie can eventually return to university.
Lisa said: “We can’t just be sitting around – we need to be doing something. Even though to look at her, you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong, we know how serious it is.”
Annie has undergone molecular profiling at a private London clinic, visited a hospital in Paris for targeted molecular therapy, and is due to commence immunotherapy treatment in Germany. The immunotherapy aims to create a vaccine uniquely tailored to an individual’s cancer — though it remains in clinical trials and is not yet available on the NHS.
View 4 ImagesAnnalise Donelon, after brain surgery(Image: SWNS)
The family are continuing to raise £100,000 they say she requires for the immunotherapy treatment. Once recovered, Annie plans to switch courses to study biochemistry, with ambitions to pursue a career in clinical science researching future treatments for conditions such as her own.
Lisa said: “It’s Annie’s biggest dream to go back to studying in Newcastle in September – to be with her friends and do the part time job at St. James Park that she loves.
“She’s decided to change to study biochemistry which we and the university fully support. This will give her access to careers within Genomic Medicine so that she can make a difference to the much-needed research in this area and can help people like herself get the treatment they deserve.”
View 4 ImagesAnnelise Donelon, in Paris, France. // A university student who put her headaches down to exam stress was later diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. Annelise Donelon, 20, known as Annie, went to her GP several times and doctors initially put her symptoms down to a B12 deficiency. But injections didn’t help and the chemical engineering student said her headaches got worse until they felt “like a bandsaw” was being cut down one side of her face. Finally a CT scan revealed a 5cm high-grade brain tumour inside one of the fluid-filled cavities in her brain. The pressure was the cause of her headaches.
Dr Simon Newman, chief scientific officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “People like Annie deserve access to safe, effective treatments without the burden of searching online for worldwide options.
“As our recent report about unlocking innovation highlighted, we urgently need more promising treatments to go through clinical trials here in the UK, so families can access rigorously tested therapies closer to home, and be part of research.”
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