Broken Brain: Brutally Honest, Brutally Me

My name is Aria Nikjooy. I’m a Paediatric Trainee Doctor working in Manchester. I’ve worked as a qualified doctor since 2014. I spend my days looking after unwell children from the second they’re born to when they decide not to be children anymore! I trained in Birmingham and moved to Manchester with my pregnant wife in the summer of 2017. In November 2018 I was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, sitting in my Cerebellum in the back of my head. It was operated on, blasted with radiotherapy, subjected to chemotherapy and was thankfully kept at bay, up till March 2020 when the same brain tumour came back. I had more surgery, more chemotherapy and then as a reward – another tumour regrowth in July 2020. I’ve been at home on/off for the past couple of years, shouting at daytime TV programmes, writing in my notepad or typing on my laptop. Part of my personal therapy of reading, writing and speaking out loud; I decided to write a children’s fiction book so I could read it to my toddler son. Plus, a cancer memoir. I am eternally grateful to all those that have supported me, physically, mentally and emotionally; regardless of how near or far you’ve been.