It all started in June 2023. Alissa Bowman, a 17 -year -old Englishman, said he felt an intense thirst. This leads her to drink large amounts of water day and night, up to five liters of water per day. This insatiable thirst worries the teenager and her parents who first suspect diabetes. Alissa and her mother Fran, 49, decide to go see their general practitioner in Leeds (Great Britain). The doctor prescribes a blood test but the results do not reveal anything abnormal.
A brain tumor that affects the pituitary gland
Over the months, Alissa’s state of health is deteriorating. In addition to her insatiable thirst, she is exhausted and has no appetite. The situation was complicated in October 2023 during vacation in Thailand. Dehydrated, Alissa must be infused. In December of the same year, it was bedridden because it is too low. On December 22, she was hospitalized. An MRI will reveal a cancer brain tumor that affects pituitary gland, causing complications such as insipid diabetes – a disease characterized by the production of abundant quantities of urine and persistent thirst. Which explains his intense thirst.
Chemotherapy reduces the 90% tumor
Doctors had never seen that before. This type of cancer did not even have a name. Having no perspective on this unknown tumor, doctors cannot give a final forecast to Alissa.
In May 2024, Alissa began chemotherapy treatment. Surprisingly, after only three sessions spanning two months, his tumor had been reduced by 90%! The teenager now benefits from regular medical supervision since she has to spend MRI every six months to monitor her brain.
Fran, his mother, continues to fight to collect funds for the Brain Tumour Charity, a charitable association which is dedicated to research on brain tumors. In May 2024, she participated in the London marathon and managed to collect 21,000 pounds.
The medical team that took care of Alissa presented its case to a national panel for this type of cancer to be classified and recognized. The girl was also integrated into a research study in Newcastle.