Turning Brain Cancer Into Activism | Sophie Reed (Jersey)

Sophie Reed lives in Jersey, Channel Islands. She was diagnosed with an astrocytoma (grade 3) after an unprovoked seizure at work in her hair salon.It started with a sudden “vacant” feeling — she knew something was happening, but couldn’t speak or explain it. Within a minute, she collapsed onto a client. Paramedics arrived and she was taken to hospital.After hours of waiting and only blood tests, she was discharged with a leaflet for a First Seizure (“First Fit”) Clinic.The next day, her GP pushed for an urgent CT scan — because fit, healthy 36-year-olds don’t usually have unprovoked seizures.When Sophie had her CT, radiology decided to use contrast. Shortly after, she got the call:“We found lesions on your brain. Come back in. You’re being admitted.”Sophie was told she had a large brain tumour. Then she heard words like “sinister” and “there’s not much we can do.” The following day she was told it might be metastatic cancer, and she underwent full-body scans while fearing she was dying.With Jersey having no specialist neuro services, Sophie sought a private consultation through her husband’s insurance and met Dr. Paul Grundy in Southampton, who believed it looked like a low-grade glioma. She chose surgery.In this episode, Sophie shares:her first seizure and losing speech mid-salonbeing discharged without brain imagingthe CT scan that changed everythingbeing told “sinister” and “not much we can do”fear of metastasis and full-body cancer investigationstravelling off-island for specialist careawake surgery (and why she’d do it awake again)the sound of her skull being cut — and triggers afterwards95% tumour resection and seizure freedom on Keppraradiotherapy (33 sessions) and chemotherapychoosing to pause chemo because side effects intensified each cyclewatch-and-wait and living with scan uncertaintydocumenting her journey on TikTok as @bobtheglobcastcampaigning and activism in Jerseywinning Pride of Jersey awards for advocacysetting up a charity to connect families with the right neurological supportthe financial strain of off-island treatment and why local fundraising should stay local⚠️ Content note: This episode includes seizures, brain cancer terminology, hospital communication trauma, awake neurosurgery, radiotherapy/chemotherapy, and ongoing uncertainty.