Coffee addict, 37, thought nothing of headaches and brain fog until aggressive cancer diagnosis

A WOMAN who blamed her symptoms on caffeine withdrawal has now been given 15 years left to live after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.

Abi Feltham, 37, was drinking about 12 coffees a day, then quit cold turkey – so naturally she thought it was her body “punishing her for the betrayal”.

But when her vision blurred to the point where her boyfriend, Stef, had to guide her around like a seeing-eye dog, she finally booked an optician appointment.

A quick scan revealed swollen optic nerves—signalling dangerous pressure in her brain.

“I wasn’t worried,”; Abi, from the UK, recalls.

“Then the doctor said, ‘I’m calling the neuro team,’ and that’s when I knew—ah, crap, this is serious.”;

A CT scan at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington confirmed a mass on her brain.

Within days, she was on an operating table for her first surgery.

After draining a cyst pressing on her brain, her eyesight and pain improved instantly.

“I thought maybe I was in the clear,”; she says.

But two weeks later, reality struck – the tumour was aggressive, cancerous, and she needed another surgery immediately.

This time, the goal was to remove as much of the tumour as possible without paralysing her.

Abi was discharged just two days after the operation and she was back in the gym – bandages and all – power lifting.

But her final diagnosis was an incurable grade 3 oligodendroglioma – a type of brain tumour – with an estimated 15 years left to live.

For some, this news would be crushing. But for Abi, it’s fuel.

That's because Abi has had to overcome other health battles in her life.

Not the only health battle…

In April 2020, she got sober after a year-long battle with alcohol and drug addiction.

“I was drinking vodka in my tea just to start the day,” she admits.

“If I kept going, I wouldn't have made it.”

She now has over 2.7 million likes on TikTok, and built a following for her searingly honest and hilarious takes on sobriety, mental health, and life's unexpected curve balls.

“There was a time when I didn’t care if I lived or died. But now? I’ve built a life worth living. So I’m going to live it,”; said Abi.

As an Ambassador for Brain Tumour Research, she’s determined to raise awareness and push for change.

“Only 1 per cent of national cancer research funding goes to brain tumours,”; she says.

“That’s unacceptable.”;

With just two more chemo cycles left, Abi is already planning her next move.

“I want to write a book—part memoir, part self-help. If my story can help someone struggling with addiction, depression, or illness, then it’s worth sharing.”;

Her outlook on life has shifted in the most unexpected way.

“I spent so much of my life running from myself, drowning in self-hatred. And now? Cancer has made me grateful, positive, even happy,”; she says.

“I mean, I don’t recommend getting cancer for a mindset shift, but it’s definitely done the trick.”;