By Andrew Rodriguez
Publication Date: 2026-04-10 00:23:00
Amy had just turned 25, but her body seemed to be turning against her: crushing fatigue, loss of bone density, and months without her period. We went to several doctors. They suspected allergies, burnout, or maybe she just needed more sleep. Then we got her MRI results back: My friend had a brain tumor.
Amy has a prolactinomaa tumor of the pituitary gland, the pea-sized organ at the base of the brain that controls your hormones. In many cases, prolactinomas are benign, grow slowly and shrink with medication. The growth was discovered late, rapidly gaining mass and sitting in a rare position that obscured her vision. And Amy’s hormone levels were greatly elevated.
We were told that standard treatment – including two surgeries – would completely eliminate the tumor. That wasn’t the case. The tumor kept coming back. I was her full-time nurse for weeks, holding her hand despite the headaches that kept her bedridden. She couldn’t bend down, couldn’t blow her nose, for fear of…
