A teenager who was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma at the age of 14 hopes to bring hope to brain tumour patients.
Indigo Powell, now 18, first began experiencing severe headaches while living in the USA in 2021. After undergoing an MRI scan, the large brain tumour on her right hemisphere was revealed. Within 24 hours, Indi was undergoing emergency surgery.
Warned that she might have to relearn how to walk and read, Indi permanently lost her peripheral vision. She recounted: “I could talk, but I couldn’t control my body very well. I knew how to read but, when I looked at the words, I had no idea what they meant. Simple tasks felt impossible; my brain just wasn’t connecting.”
After partaking in a successful clinical trial for T-cell infusion therapy (above left), a form of immunotherapy, Indi was given hope that research is the solution to stopping the devastation caused by brain tumours.
Now back in the UK to complete her secondary education, with plans to study child psychology at university, Indi said: “I feel so lucky my tumour was found in time and that surgeons were able to remove it. But not everyone is as lucky. We need more awareness and more research.”
A passionate advocate for Brain Tumour Research, Indi is encouraging others to raise awareness of brain tumours, and the sustainable research funded by the Charity. She concluded: “I’m living proof that research saves lives.”
You can help save lives by donating to Brain Tumour Research.
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