A ROYAL Navy officer who felt thirsty and tired all the time was eventually diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Petty officer Jess Zentilin-Dorey, 33, discovered she had a grade 4 astrocytoma in June 2022 after a seizure at home.
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Initially she thought months of intensive training was to blame for her dehydration, which led to feelings of fatigue and exhaustion.
But she discovered the true cause of her symptoms just nine weeks after marrying her partner Gabriella.
Jess, who moved from Pembrokeshire to Plymouth to join the Navy aged 16, said: “I was getting up at 4.30am for field gun training sessions, maintaining my own gym routine and working a full day.
”The weather at the time was incredibly hot so when I began to feel tired and worn out.
”I just thought it was down to dehydration and exhaustion, but little did I know it was something more sinister.
“Just nine weeks after getting married on June 26, my life changed forever.”
Jess was diagnosed with a astrocytoma – a rare type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.
About a third of all brain tumours in the UK are astrocytomas, making it the most common form.
Describing the day of her seizure, Jess said: “All I remember was waking up on the kitchen floor, my wife leaning over me and calling my name, with no recollection of what had happened.
“She asked me if I knew her name to which I laughed and said, ‘Gabriella’.
“She said that during this time, I looked vacant and when I spoke her name, my speech was broken.
“My seizure had lasted for about eight minutes, and fortunately the ambulance arrived soon after.”
Paramedics rushed Jess to Derriford Hospital, where she had a CT scan, MRI scan and other tests.
At 10pm, doctors revealed they had found a lesion on her brain.
Jess was sent home the following day and had a craniotomy three weeks later.
“The doctors said they were successful in removing 99 per cent of the mass, and Gabriella and I thought this was good news,” she said.
“We went to the pathology appointment in high spirits, but I was stopped in my tracks.
“Because my tumour is grade 4, it is incurable.
“I didn’t want to know the prognosis, but I understood that it would shorten my life expectancy.
“When we left the consultant’s room, Gabriella broke down in tears. I tried to hold it together but failed and cried while holding her tightly.
“Our whole world had been turned upside down – forever changed.”
I just thought I was dehydrated and exhausted, but little did I know it was something more sinister
Jess Zentilin-Dorey
Jess underwent gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, was prescribed steroids, and is now monitored with scans.
She has also made lifestyle changes to help her feel better, including cutting out alcohol and following a plant-based diet.
“I gained a huge amount of weight. Before my diagnosis I was 68kg, and at the start of 2023, I was 78kg – the heaviest I’ve ever been,” she added.
Jess, who is sharing her story during Brain Tumour Awareness Month, is now running in the Plymouth Half Marathon on April 28 to raise money for the charity Brain Tumour Research and awareness of her condition.
“Prior to finding out my tumour diagnosis I was naïve about cancer,” she said.
“I assumed that it would follow a process – the doctors found it, treated it and you were sent on your merry cancer-free way.
”However, my curiosity got the better of me and, searching online, I seemed to find a variety of stories and information with numerous timelines.”
‘Time is so precious’
In a bid to take control of her life in the wake of a life-limiting diagnosis, Jess signed up to the 13.1mile challenge alongside Gabriella to regain her physical fitness.
She added: “I decided to set myself a goal of running a 10km to get back into fitness.
”As someone who had always been keen on health and movement, I finally felt able to get back to the gym and found that goal setting helped me keep a positive outlook and gave me a huge drive to stay focused.”
In 2023, she completed the Plymouth 10km in 60 minutes. She went on to do the Royal Parks Half Marathon in two hours and 12 minutes.
She is now training for the Plymouth Half Marathon with Gabriella in April, as well as the Peak District 52km Ultra Challenge in July.
“We want to keep achieving goals together and raising money for charities that have helped us through our cancer journey and help them by raising the funds they need to help others living with cancer,” Jess said.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.
That is one good thing that comes from getting a terminal diagnosis… you get perspective
Jess Zentilin-Dorey
Jess said: “There’s still so much that we don’t know about brain tumours.
”If we are to find kinder treatments and a cure for the disease, we must talk about brain tumours so people recognise the historic underfunding in vital research compared to other cancers.
“I don’t feel like someone who is living with brain cancer, I don’t feel like I’m ill or have an incurable disease.
”I know my journey is far from over. My break in treatment right now is wonderful, especially as it has been non-stop for 18 months, but I know that I will require more at some point.
”Until then, I want to live my life to the fullest and share my story to raise awareness about brain tumours.
“That is one good thing that comes from getting a terminal diagnosis… you get perspective.
“Time is so precious; I literally cannot emphasise that enough.”
Katrina Jones, head of community fundraising at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Jessica’s story is devastating although not unusual. Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age.
”We’re grateful to Jessica for taking the time to share her diagnosis with us and wish her well with her ongoing scans and her training for the Plymouth half Marathon.
”We are sending our good luck to both Jessica and Gabriella for the race.”
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What is an astrocytoma and what are the symptoms?
An astrocytoma is a brain tumour that grows from astrocyte brain cells.
It is the most common primary brain tumour, making up a third of all diagnosed in the UK.
There are four main types:
- Grade 1 (pilocytic astrocytoma) – slow growing, relatively contained, unlikely to spread
- Grade 2 (diffuse astrocytoma) – slow growing, difficult to remove completely, can sometimes return after treatment
- Grade 3 (anaplastic astrocytoma) – fast growing, malignant or cancerous, often return after treatment
- Grade 4 (glioblastoma) – fastest growing, very often spread and return after treatment
The main symptoms of astrocytoma vary between patients, but include:
- Headaches
- Difficulty speaking
- Change in vision, like double vision or blurriness
- Cognitive difficulties, like trouble thinking or remembering
- Seizures (epilepsy)
Treatment usually involves surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Many factors influence someone’s prognosis, but the average survival time for a grade 4 astrocytoma is 12 to 18 months.
Only 25 per cent of people live for more than one year, and just five per cent survive more than five years.
Source: Brain Tumour Charity