Starr was just nine years old when she was rushed into hospital at Halloween, still thinking about ‘trick-or-treating’ with her friends. Instead, she underwent emergency surgery for a posterior fossa medulloblastoma, a highly aggressive childhood brain cancer. Although surgeons were able to remove the tumour completely, the success of the operation came at a significant cost. Starr developed severe Posterior Fossa Syndrome (also known as Cerebellar Mutism Syndrome), a recognised complication of deep surgery to completely remove a tumour in this part of the brain. Following treatment, she was unable to speak, swallow, sit upright independently or walk. Her family suddenly found themselves watching their daughter lose abilities she had already mastered years before.
Like a much younger child, Starr had to relearn fundamental developmental skills from the beginning. She first learned to crawl on all fours again, then to pull herself to standing, and eventually to walk. This recovery was slowly achieved with remarkably limited rehabilitation support despite the severity of her acquired brain injury.
Today, Starr is a young, working adult who has regained much of her independence, but the impact of her tumour and treatment remains lifelong. She continues to experience a weak voice, significant incoordination, balance difficulties and fatigue. These challenges affect her daily life and require her to work much harder than her peers to achieve the same outcomes, adding to her fatigue and need for some support.
Starr discovered the value of connecting with others who understand what she has experienced at the Success Nottingham Roadshow Conference in October 2025. There she spoke about her experiences and gained strength from meeting fellow survivors whose stories mirrored her own, and from meeting professionals from many different recovery fields. For many young adults living with the consequences of childhood brain tumours, this sense of belonging and shared understanding can be transformative. Accessing recovery professionals and knowing that others have faced similar challenges and gone on to lead fulfilling lives, offers hope, confidence and practical support for managing the future.
Like many survivors entering adulthood, Starr has also begun to think about relationships, partnership and the possibility of having children of her own. When she was diagnosed, her mother declined the option of fertility preservation through ovarian tissue cryopreservation. At the time, Starr was critically ill, very young, and the future risk-benefits of the procedure in individuals are still uncertain. As an adult, Starr has appreciated being able to discuss these complex issues openly through Success, helping her to better understand the fertility and reproductive options that may still be available to her.
Her future health continues to depend on specialist endocrine care. As a result of her treatment, she requires ongoing growth hormone, oestrogen and thyroid hormone replacement therapy to support her long-term health, development and wellbeing. These treatments help address the consequences of damage to normal glandular function caused by intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
