British woman given 11 years of chemotherapy for a brain cancer she never had

An independent review concluded that Becky Jones, now 34, was misdiagnosed with grade 4 brain cancer in 2012 and treated for over a decade with chemotherapy she did not need.

• Jones received temozolomide chemotherapy for 11 years after a 2012 glioblastoma diagnosis; treatment stopped in 2024 when her consultant, Professor Ian Brown, retired.
• In May 2025, a review by neurosurgeons and radiologists found she had tumefactive demyelination, an inflammatory condition treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, not cancer.
• A Royal College of Physicians review of 20 similar cases found 15 "unsatisfactory overall," citing prolonged treatment with little or no evidence of benefit.
• More than 40 patients are suing University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust; the trust said it has tightened oversight of temozolomide prescribing.