Suffering from seemingly mild symptoms, a 33-year-old British woman was finally diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
- Significant thirst and constant fatigue: these were the first symptoms experienced for several months by Jess Zentilin-Dorey, a 33-year-old British woman in the Royal Navy.
- Thinking these symptoms were due to the intensity of military training, she eventually learned she had astrocytoma, a rare type of cancer that can start in the brain or spinal cord. His tumor is grade 4, and therefore incurable.
- In parallel with a heavy treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the young woman radically changed her lifestyle: no more alcohol, a healthy diet and a lot of sport, particularly running. “I don’t feel like someone living with brain cancer,” she told The Sun.
Significant thirst and constant fatigue: these were the first symptoms experienced for several months by Jess Zentilin-Dorey, a 33-year-old British woman. This officer of the Royal Navy, the United Kingdom’s military navy, then thought she would suffer the repercussions linked to months and months of intensive training within the army.
“I thought my condition was related to dehydration and exhaustion”
On the program, in fact: cannon shooting sessions from 4:30 a.m., daily sport, and great workloads to top it all off. “It was very hot at the time, I started to feel exhausted. I thought it was related to dehydration and exhaustion. I had no idea it was much more severe”, she tells the newspaper across the Channel The Sun.
In June 2022, nine months after marrying her partner, Jess Zentilin-Dorey had a seizure at home. “All I remember is waking up on the kitchen floor with my wife leaning over me and calling my name. I had no memory of what happened. pass. […] She told me that during this time I seemed absent and that when I said her name my speech was impacted. My seizure lasted about eight minutes, and luckily help arrived shortly after.”
An astrocytoma, a rare type of cancer in the brain or spinal cord
At the hospital, after a series of tests, doctors told her that she was suffering from an astrocytoma, a rare type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. Three weeks later, she underwent a craniotomy: surgeons opened her skull to gain access to the tumor. If they manage to remove 99% of the mass (“Good news”), the patient immediately learns that her tumor is grade 4, and therefore “incurable”.
Alongside heavy chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, the young woman radically changed her lifestyle, no longer drinking a drop of alcohol and following a very plant-based diet. It is also thanks to sport – gym club and running – that the survivor hears “get back in shape” And “keep a positive attitude”. Recently, she completed the Plymouth 10 kilometers in 1 hour, and the Royal Parks half-marathon (21 km) in 2 hours and 12 minutes.
“I don’t feel like someone living with brain cancer, I don’t feel like I’m sick or have an incurable disease”, confides Jess Zentilin-Dorey. Next objective: thePeak District Ultra Challenge” next July, which offers running between 16 and… 100 km!
