"I was inspired by a female doctor to pursue medicine after I was diagnosed with a brain tumour at 16"
A Sheffield University medical student who shares her day-to-day life with thousands of followers has shared how a brain tumour diagnosis at 16 led her to pursue medicine.
Fiona Kwan is in her second year studying medicine at the University of Sheffield and is determined to qualify as a doctor.
She told The Star she had no clue what she was going to do after her GCSEs and was actively discouraging herself from pursuing medicine.
But then, aged just 16, doctors found a tumour the size of a “tennis ball” on her brain. It was benign and non-cancerous, but still very impactful on Fiona’s life.
“I was in the ICU,” she said. “I still have a scar to this day and can’t grow hair out of that one place on my skull.
“It was the first time in my life I wanted to take control and wanted to not wait for what the universe would give me.”
It was a turning point in Fiona’s young life.
“I was late to the dream [of being a doctor],” she said. “Many people in my university cohort have been wanting to do this since they were two.
“It was a slow realisation after my treatment. I wanted to impact someone the way my neurosurgeon impacted me.
“She was kind. If she could do it I can do it. She was inspiring.”
Fiona, whose instagram account (@medbyfio) has more than 63,000 followers, nailed her A-Level exams and ended up being in the top three per cent nationally for medical admissions exams.
She started at the University of Sheffield after a gap year.
It is no secret how difficult an NHS career is for doctors, particularly new ones. It is a topic Fiona has become passionate about.
She said: “So many junior doctors talk about burn out. This is something we can change from the ground up.
“Building habits really will make it easier to take care of yourself before you take care of your patients.”
It is abundantly clear, however, there are heavy pressures on young doctors which Fiona would also like to see change.
She said: “As a medical student you are really well supported but moving on there is a larger gap and they have to push some service provision on to you to fill the gap.
“You’ll be taking bloods and putting in IVs. That stuff can be done by nurses. There is mid-level stuff that is blurred.
“It is definitely a broken system... there needs to be more appreciation for junior doctors.”
Fiona’s regular content surrounding her medical training and day-to-day life give her a unique perspective on balancing career and ‘influencing’.
“Social media is seen as sitting around doing so little for lots of money,” she said, “but more and more people are incorporating it with their 9-5 jobs and I think people use it to channel their creative mind into their work.”
Last year, aged just 19, Fiona was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry and presented at international conferences to discuss self-care in the medical profession.
It’s a tremendous start to a promising career - and she still has a good few years of university to complete yet.