Ballymoney women diagnosed with brain tumour at 12 overcomes odds to graduate from University
Doctors advised she should leave school after GCSE studies
Last updated 9th Jul 2023
Faced with a very rare brain tumour diagnosis at only twelve years old, Lauren Monaghan battled her health issues and has now graduated from Ulster University with a degree in Computer Science.
As she entered her first year of secondary school doctors revealed she had a brain tumour, and it was advised she should leave school after GCSE’s.
One year after her diagnosis Lauren says, “I had a recurrence and it had gone multicystic, so I had a second surgery and that went wrong. I was left in a coma, had a stroke and I was left with a long list of conditions.”
Following her recurrence, Lauren travelled to America for proton therapy and clinical trials.
Travelling for treatment and allowing time to recover meant Lauren had to take time off school, but she was determined to keep up with education by utilising her at-home tutor.
Lauren was on track to sit her A level exams when another health issue not related to the brain tumour was discovered that required surgery. Due to this she had to take a step back and repeat the year.
Looking back on her education journey, Lauren said graduation “still hasn’t sunk in yet, it was hard work but at the same time I’m really glad I did it and I now have career in front of me.”
Speaking of the early symptoms she experienced, Lauren warns that, “I was having headaches on and off since I was eight years old. They were presenting as migraines, but I was getting sicker and sicker each time I had a so-called migraine. Then it just went into one big, long headache, it wasn’t settling with pain relief, I was falling asleep off chairs.”
“My mum took me to the doctors a few times and I was sent home with pain medication. Being told it was stress, but we knew something was not right. We eventually got an MRI… we were told you are going to have to go to the Royal. So, they had obviously seen something.”
Outside of education, Lauren performs for the Cancer Fund for Children’s Care-Free Choir and is a committee member at Brainwaves NI, who supported Lauren and her family after her treatment in America.
She states Brainwaves NI is “A great community to be a part of because you are getting to compare notes with other people, who have been through more or less the same thing… it feels like a little family.”
Lauren expresses her gratitude for two of her lecturers, Mairin Nicell and Phillip Vance, acknowledging their support which got her through her course and final project.
As well as leaving a message for anyone who is worried about their health problem impacting their education. She says, “Don’t wallow, don’t feel like you are never going to get there because you are.”