Author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain tumour diagnosis

Author Sophie Kinsella has announced that she has been diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM).

Best known for writing the Shopaholic book series, Kinsella shared the news on social media, writing: “At the end of 2022, I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer. I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our ‘new normal.’

“I have been under the care of the excellent team at University College Hospital in London and have had successful surgery and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which is still ongoing.

The mother of five added: “At the moment all is stable and I am feeling generally well, though I get very tired and my memory is even worse than it was before!”

GBM is the most commonly diagnosed primary high-grade brain tumour in adults with a devastatingly short average survival of just 12-18 months. This type of tumour is diffuse, meaning that tumour cells invade healthy areas of the brain and even after surgery, some cancerous cells will almost always be left behind and will continue to grow.

Treatments are very limited – usually surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy – and there is no cure. Teams at our Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence are working to increase our understanding of GBM, and improve the diagnosis and treatment of this type of brain tumour. Read more here.

Our spokesman, Hugh Adams, said: “We are so sorry to hear the distressing news that Sophie Kinsella has been diagnosed with a GBM. It is a devastating disease. Sadly, brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer and they remain the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40. Our thoughts are with Sophie, her family, friends and her many fans.”

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