Becky Jones, 34, endured around 11 years of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with a brain tumour at 21. She later learned experts concluded she had never had brain cancer.

Jones estimates she underwent about 156 cycles of temozolomide, far beyond the six-cycle course normally recommended. She is among more than 40 patients taking legal action against University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

'I'd asked them before if I had a brain tumour, but I believed everything they said to me,' Jones told the BBC. 'They said the chemotherapy was keeping me alive, and I believed them, why not.'

A Diagnosis Before Results

In 2012, Jones began suffering severe migraines and scans showed a lesion on her brain. She underwent a biopsy, but a grade-four glioblastoma diagnosis was made before the results had returned.

Jones was told she had six to 12 months to live. She underwent chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy, then continued taking temozolomide for years under Professor Ian Brown.

Guidance recommends up to six cycles of adjuvant temozolomide after chemoradiotherapy for newly diagnosed grade-four glioma. Jones says she remained on the drug for 11 years, despite scans showing no clear tumour.

When Jones questioned the scans, she says she was told the tumour would not be 'visible to the naked eye'. 'He's just ruined my life, essentially,' she said.

Years of Treatment

The treatment brought nausea, fatigue, depression, anxiety and stomach problems. Jones says it affected her fertility and work plans, while her driving licence was revoked and her police ambition was derailed.

She stopped taking temozolomide in 2024 after being told treatment was ending because Brown had retired. Jones says she was not given a reason.

In May 2025, neurosurgeons and radiologists instructed by Brabners concluded Jones had never had brain cancer. They identified tumefactive demyelination, an inflammatory brain condition treated with steroids.

'The tumefactive demyelination is on the differential diagnosis, so it could have been solved within a few weeks,' Jones said. She learned the diagnosis during a Teams call with her solicitors and medical experts.

'I found out over a Teams conference with my clinical experts that I didn't have a tumour,' she said. 'It had been expected, but until someone tells you you've never had cancer, that's when it really hits you.'

Fiona Tinsley, a Brabners partner, said: 'When we found out there were just tears in everyone's eyes.' Jones is among more than 40 patients taking legal action.

Other patients have raised concerns about prolonged treatment. One believes the drug left her infertile, while another developed leukaemia after 100 cycles, although a causal link remains unestablished.

Professor Brown, who has retired, is under investigation by the General Medical Council. The Royal College of Physicians reviewed cases linked to prolonged chemotherapy without naming Brown in its findings.

Review Raises Questions

The review examined 20 cases and found 15 were 'unsatisfactory overall'. It said patients received prolonged treatment with 'little or no evidence of benefit' and found 'scant evidence' that risks were understood.

Investigators cited 'insufficient clinical curiosity' and questioned why pharmacy teams did not challenge decade-long prescriptions. The findings described a 'betrayal of patient trust'.

'It's not just about what he's done, it's about how they let him act on his own for so long,' Jones said. 'I want him held accountable for what he has done, I want him behind bars. I'm not the only one,' she added.

UHCW said affected patients had been reviewed by senior clinicians and had care plans. The trust said patient safety and wellbeing remained its top priorities.

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