Saffron Fry began hearing voices and suffered seizures, tests would reveal she had brain cancer

Saffron Fry began hearing new voices in her head when she suddenly started suffering from seizures earlier this year.

Saffron Fry knew something might be wrong when she suddenly started hearing an elderly woman and a man’s voice inside her head.

When the 27-year-old would come to, she would only remember that they spoke to her but never what they said, as if it was a dream.

The “new voices in (her) head” began speaking to her in May this year, when she began suffering from seizures.

On May 14, Saffron, who lives in Woodcroft, suddenly stopped breathing in her sleep during one of her seizures, which woke her fiancee Scott up.

“He was trying to resuscitate me … until the ambulance got there,” she said.

Saffron was rushed to Flinders Hospital where tests and an MRI revealed a four by 4.5 centimetre rare cancerous brain tumour in her brain called oligodendroglioma, specifically grade two.

Saffron Fry, 27, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2024, with her fiancee Scott. Picture: Supplied

“It kind of put everything together,” the landscaper said.

“I’d always have these headaches, I’d always be very tired no matter how long I’d sleep, so now I understood why.”

The discovery meant Saffron had to stop work immediately and undergo a range of tests, scans and appointments before an eight hour brain surgery on June 26.

“I was awake for the surgery,” she said.

“(I could feel) the vibration when they had to cut my skull open.”

Saffron suffered another seizure during the surgery, which partially removed the tumour, however the 27-year-old will need to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove the remaining cancer.

Saffron will need to continue to have radiotherapy and chemotherapy to ensure the rest of the tumour is destroyed. Picture: Supplied

Saffron remained awake during her eight hour brain surgery. Picture: Supplied

To remain calm throughout the lengthy surgery she had Michael Goldblatt, an anaesthetist and clinical hypnosis guide her.

“He was basically taking me … through how to pull away from my body,” Saffron said.

She said the eight hour surgery only felt like two hours through the meditation.

Following treatment Saffron and her fiancee hope to realise their dream of travelling around Australia in a bus with their two dogs.

Since being diagnosed with brain cancer Saffron’s attitude has changed and she said “life’s too short”. Picture: Supplied

Saffron will travel with Scott around Australia in a bus if they manage to raise enough funds to buy one. Picture: Supplied

“I really want to travel home, which is Australia, not just Adelaide, go to those smaller towns and appreciate what they have there,” she said.

“We’re so lucky in Australia, there’s so many beautiful places that you don’t know about.

“My whole life growing up, I’ve gone ‘I’m going to travel Australia for the rest of my life or go buy a house off grid’ — that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.

“The more people I meet, people that question me about what I’m going through, I’m so happy to talk about it people it helps me process it and helps people understand what to be careful to, listen to, in case they need to get themselves checked.”

After being diagnosed with brain cancer, Saffron has a new perspective on life.

“Wake up, life’s too short,” she said.

“Even the people who are the most healthiest, why not appreciate what we want to do and make sure we take those steps forward to do it.

“It’s so easy to go to work every single day and … next thing you know it’s been two months and you’re like, ‘oh we never did that, too late, we can’t do that anymore’.

“You get to the end of life and you’re like well holy hell, there’s so much that I’ve missed out on actually doing, I’m so now in the present, if I want to do this I’m going to do this because that’s going to make me feel good rather than worry about not doing that in two weeks time, a month’s time, at the end of my life.”

If you want to donate to Saffron’s dream, you can here.

Originally published as Saffron Fry began hearing voices and suffered seizures, tests would reveal she had brain cancer