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Girl dies of brain tumour after doctor tells her 'headaches are caused by stress'
Last updated at 14:22pm on 09.08.07
Jennifer Bell: Collapsed at home
A woman who had complained to her GP of severe headaches for almost a year collapsed and died of an undiagnosed brain tumour.
Jennifer Bell, 22, had been told she was suffering from stress but after months of illness had finally been referred to a neurologist.
She then faced a 13-week wait before a 'relatively urgent' MRI scan could be carried out.
Three days before the longawaited appointment she collapsed at home and died later in hospital.
Her parents, Colin and Joyce Bell, want to know why Jennifer's MRI referral was logged only as 'relatively urgent'.
Yesterday at an inquest in Norwich, Coroner William Armstrong agreed that an early scan would have led to much faster intervention.
Jennifer, of Thorpe End, Norwich, developed severe headaches, nausea, a stiff neck and diarrhoea in August 2005.
Her health became so poor she gave up her job as a passenger service agent at Norwich airport.
She visited her GP for the first time on November 4, 2005.
Between then and April 10, 2006, she had five GP appointments. She also had six physiotherapy sessions.
Her GP, Dr Helene Barclay, of Thorpe Medical Group, had recorded her symptoms as stressrelated.
But eight months on and still no better, Jennifer was referred to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
There a neurologist discovered that her periods had stopped, a symptom not usually associated with headaches and decided she needed a scan.
But on July 3 last year - only three days before her appointment, Miss Bell collapsed at home.
She was taken to the N&N hospital and then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, where she died.
At the inquest, Dr Barclay defended her decision to prescribe painkillers and physiotherapy for Miss Bell's stiff neck.
"She did not show any sensory symptoms and I feel the routine referral to the N&N was appropriate," she said.
Dr Jeffrey Cochius, consultant neurologist and clinical director at the N&N, said it was a credit to the neurologist who had referred Jennifer for the MRI as many would not have asked questions about her menstruation.
Coroner Mr Armstrong recorded a narrative verdict, saying: "I think there is no doubt that the tumour caused her death but it is also quite clear that early detection would have resulted in medical intervention of some kind.
"The expression 'relatively urgent' is inherently ambiguous and the hospital might consider whether its use is helpful or appropriate.
"Jennifer died as a consequence of a progressive undiagnosed brain tumour of a rare type and location urgent is a dangerous term because it is a contradiction."
Reader views (19)
so sorry to the family. i have been suffering from horrible headaches for 2 years now. my gp told me i was taking to many painkillers! i stopped but symptons got worse. i now have a stiff neck like my head is too heavy to be supported and numb left arm. i went to see a different gp who has referred me for test at the hospital. this whole thing took 2 years and i still havent had any tests yet as my appointment isnt untill the end of july. i just hope gps get there acts together so other people dont have to worry!
- Kaz, gloucestershire UK
this story is really sad my mum had headaches for years but luckily only were migraines and were aided with medication should i be scared for my mum
- Mariah, australia
My headaches were put down to hormonal changes in my body and just growing up.
It wasn't until I had a seizure that they sent me for a CT then a follow up M RI scan that they found my tumour, luckly I was only young and it was classed as a Pilocytic Astrocytoma!
- Sharna, Australia
I've been having headaches for nearly a year now and was also told that its stress related. I was put on a preventative medicine which was very strong and did help with the pain, but taking the dose down a bit now the headaches are still very much there. I also feel some problems with sight and dizzy. I'm now contacting my neurologist to insist on getting a scan that they told me they were sure I didnt need. I feel really scared too... I wish you all the luck in the world Kelsey. It could be heaps of things so dont worry yourself too much - it will make you feel worse. Let us know what happens.
- Cheryl, UK
Six years ago, when my husband was 51, he went to the doctor's with severe headaches. The first doctor diagnosed stress, a stock answer it seems. Fortunately a week later he saw another doctor in the practice, who had all the relevant tests carried out, finding out that there was some swelling somewhere in his body [from the blood plasma testing]. Sinclair had his tumour removed, but it was a grade four glioblastoma multiforme, the very worst kind. It was removed quickly and radio-therapy followed six weeks later, but he only survived for four months, after the operation. We had a lot of wonderful years together, but it's never enough, is it? My heart goes out to Jennifer's family. I feel that the doctor in question was extremely negligent and then tried to justify her mistake. It really does beggar belief.
- Cheryl Wilkes, West Yorkshire England
haron, Diss, Norfolk:
Get a different doctor. I hope, for your sake, you have already done so.
- Matt, USA
I just went to the doctors cause I am getting headaches everyday all the time and they put me into bed. At first we thought it was just my eyes but then we had gotten contacts that didn't help and I have 4 different medicines that don't help and I eat healthy and the headaches seem to not go away . We had went to the doctors and she said it is stress related and I am going to go get a CAT scan this week and I am wondering if I should be worried about it being a tumour or not?
- Kelsey Simon, Pittsburgh, Pa
Hi. I have recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour after having two seizures over the Christmas holidays. Ten years ago, I went to my OB/GYN, and to a neurologist, and to an endocrinologist because I had numbing hands and feet on my left side and my periods stopped suddenly. I was put on birth control pills and told I had carpol-tunnel syndrome and told to wear and wrist support on my left hand. The wrist support did nothing to change the situation. I have a tumour in my right temporal lobe, which is now rather big and intertwined throughout my brain tissue. It would have been nice to know about it earlier than now. I have three school age children who need a healthy mother. I live in the USA where the doctors are happy for you to pay for a battery of tests but no one suggested an MRI. When I lived in the UK for 3 years, the local doctor said my numbing and stiffness and heart was due to stress. I think doctors on both sides of the Atlantic are hesitant to authorize an MRI which is such a simple test.
- Sarah Laird, California, USA
I went to my doctors complaining of headaches for over two years he also told me it was stress related and told me to take paracetamol which didn't touch the pain. I kept going back only to be told the same thing. I had a seizure in May 2006 it was only then that another doctor took my headaches seriously he refered me to the Norwich and Norfolk hospital for scans they eventually found a tumour. In August I was put on a waiting list at Addenbrookes hospital where on November 3rd 2006 it was removed. I was off the road for 18 months, I am now back driving and suffering headaches again. I have been to my doctors they are not taking me seriously. What has a person to do before they do?
- Sharon, Diss Norfolk
This story is heartbreaking, but all too familiar to many of us. Bless Jennifer, and the many other people like her who die needlessly.
- Bebe Bahnsen, Columbus, Georgia, USA
I can relate to this. It took over 3 years to diagnose my tumour. It was discovered after my GP "gave up" and referred me to a pain clinic. It still took over 12 months to see a consultant and get a scan. If I hadn't persevered the outcome could have been worse.
- Maureen Humphrey, Preston, England
Unfortunately this is very common. I feel horrible that things like this happen, but unfortunately I'm not the least surprised. Someone I knew died of ovarian cancer because doctors wouldn't take her symptoms seriously. Several others I know have been diagnosed with eg. depression, panic disorder, psychosis or eating disorder and their symptoms have turned out to have had an organic cause, a serious (though in all cases non-malignant) illness. Some of these conditions could have been diagnosed with a basic blood test! One of these people had her epileptic seizures diagnosed as "panic attacks" and another was told her back pains were caused by the relationship she had with her parents (she had a hereditary musculoskeletal disorder).
What's in common in all of these cases? They are all women. I'm not saying this can't happen to men, but sadly doctors seem to think women can't have somatic illnesses, only psychiatric and hormonal problems, and stress, of course. If you feel like there is something physically wrong with you, fight for your right to get diagnosed!
- Maija Haavisto, Helsinki, Finland
After having years of headaches treated as "stress related" I was found to have Arnold Chiari malformation. A defect where the brain drops down into the spinal column, pressing against the spinal cord and brain stem.
You bet there was stress, for the many years my doctors felt my headaches were "all in my head"!
- Mamie, California
My father died of a brain tumor 5 years ago. We had taken him to the doctors on several occasions. The doctor diagnosed him as having depression, due to the fact that my mother was leaving him. A week later he collapsed, he was taken to the hospital for tests, he was booked in for a CAT scan but the machine was not working so he waited 3 days before this was carried out. It was there that they saw the large growth and he was transferred to Kings College Hospital. Before surgery we were told the pluses and minuses of the surgery. After the surgery the surgeon told us that it was worse than they had initally thought and gave him 2-9 months, he died 1 week later. They told us that the tumour had been there for a long time. It seemed to me however that once he was diagnosed he seemed to deteriorate rapidly. I went back to see the surgeon some weeks after my dad's death. He told me that cancer research is not further now then it was 20 years ago and that brain tumours were the most baffling. It makes you wonder, why there are no reeal answers/treatment. If brain tumours are the most baffling, then why not put more into it? My dad was only 58, he had 5 grandchildren and one one the way, he had so much life in him and he enjoyed everyday of it. The surgeon also told me that GPs follow a check list, so when the GP said my dad had depression, this was just one of his 'ticks in the box', how many boxes are to be ticked before this is taken seriously?
- Lynne, Mottingham, England
I have a brain tumor that was recently diagnosed from the same symptoms and I feel very sorry for this girl and her family.
- Jichi, Los Angeles, CA
How unfortunate. It's really sad to see things like this happen. If someone can have a tumor and not know about it, it means this can happen to anyone.
I've had a lot of headaches in the past two years but have always passed them off as stress related. Scary, really scary.
- Mike, San Antonio, United States
This is terribly sad. I hope the doctors and neurologists who took part in mis-diagnosing her own up to their mistakes and don't try to point blame on others.
- Kristen, Seattle, USA
Very sad. I only hope the medical world learn from this. GPs in my opinion are given too much respect; in that they believe they can diagnose any problem that comes their way. The phrase ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ comes to mind. In my experience GPs can be very arrogant in the way they treat their patients. If they are not sure they should always refer a patient to an expert in that field, only problem is they don't because they know best. But as in this case that's not always true.
- Paul Byrne, London
Exactly the same thing happened to a friend of mine 10 years ago, and the GP's incompetence cost him his life too. Why are our GPs still failing patients in such a monumental way? I had another friend die because her GP failed to spot she had toxic shock syndrome - indeed he hadn't even heard of it. Perhaps if GPs were held more accountable for their actions they may take a little more care. I understand they are only human and will inevitably make mistakes but it seems they make more than they should.
- Anon, London, UK
