A schoolteacher and amateur comedian surprised her surgeons by singing and telling jokes while they operated on her brain tumour for nine hours.
Sarah-May Philo, from Glasgow, was kept awake during her surgery and, after medics laughed at a passing comment she made, she decided to keep telling jokes.
A trained opera singer, she even made up songs about the staff around her after a speech therapist who sat with her asked her to try singing.
Ms Philo, 35, said the strange experience helped to break the ice in the room and she described the operating room atmosphere as ‘like being in a cafe with your mates’.
During the surgery medics managed to remove 85 per cent of the tumour, which had been growing for a staggering 15 years without her knowing about it.
Ms Philo has since managed to returned to work and is now engaged to marry her partner, Paul, next year.
Sarah-May Philo, 35, was kept awake during surgery to remove her brain tumour, and entertained surgeons and medical staff by telling jokes and singing to them while they operated
Teacher Ms Philo had no warning of the illness until she woke up to be told an ambulance was on its way after having a seizure in her sleep last year.
Despite part of the tumour – which she jokingly named Rodger – remaining, she still feels she has ‘dodged a bullet’.
Ms Philo said: ‘The doctors gave me a choice of whether I wanted to be put to sleep or stay awake during the surgery.
‘I wanted to stay awake and talking so they would see which parts of my brain controlled what.
‘It was all prepared in advance and the recovery time was infinitely quicker because I stayed awake.
‘It was really formal in the operation to start off with, but then halfway through the the surgeon said, “oops”.
‘I was like ‘what do you mean “oops”? Don’t say that when you’ve got my brain open!
Ms Philo, a teacher in Glasgow, did not realise she had a brain tumour until doctors diagnosed her after she had a seizure in her sleep in December 2017
Ms Philo said telling jokes to the medical staff during her operation broke the ice and made the theatre feel ‘like being down the cafe with your mates’
‘Everyone just burst out laughing – it really broke the ice. It felt like being down the cafe with your mates.’
Ms Philo had been living with the tumour in her skull for 15 years before she found out about it, the BBC reported.
Diagnosed with cancer after a seizure in her sleep
But in December 2017 she suffered a seizure in her sleep and her partner, Paul Griffin, phoned an ambulance which rushed her to hospital.
A scan at the Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in March revealed she had a huge cancerous brain tumour called an oligodendroglioma.
Oligodendrogliomas are a type of tumour which starts in the brain and is the third most common form of glioma – the main type of brain cancer.
Ms Philo, who is also a trained opera singer (pictured showing the wound left on her scalp after surgery) also made up songs about people around her in the hospital and sang opera classic Ave Maria
Symptoms can include seizures, headaches, vertigo, nausea, vision problems or muscle weakness.
Treatment usually involves radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery.
‘The tumour was so big it looked like half a brain’
Ms Philo said: ‘When she brought up the scan, it looked like half a brain. It was so big.
‘I must have been in shock because the first thing I thought was “how fascinating”.
‘I have just been living with this and going to school and meeting my friends and carrying on with this large thing in my head.’
During surgery Ms Philo told the medical staff jokes from her amateur stand-up routine as a way to keep calm.
‘It was surreal but very funny and it came naturally to me’
She said: ‘About four hours in the speech therapist, who was talking to me throughout the surgery, said “I need to get up and move around my bum’s getting numb”.
‘I said to her “my whole body is numb but why don’t I get up and join you for a jog”.
‘It was surreal but very funny and it just came naturally at the time – even though I was pretty spaced out.’
And cracking jokes wasn’t the only thing that kept the docs and Ms Philo going during the painstakingly long surgery.
Ms Philo had to undergo chemotherapy after her operation and lost her hair as a result of the therapy, which she says has been the worst part of the treatment
Operatically trained singer Ms Philo belted out classical tune Ave Maria and made up songs about the medics operating on her.
She said: ‘Part of my comedy routine was making up songs on the spot about people who were in front of me.
‘I started making up songs on the spot’
‘The speech therapist asked if I could do some singing during the surgery so I started making up songs about her, the surgeons, and the anaesthetist on the spot.’
Ms Philo had weeks of chemotherapy during which her hair fell out, which she said was the worst part.
She had her eggs frozen to boost her chances of becoming pregnant, and Paul has since proposed to her and the couple plan to get married next June.
Ms Philo (pictured right, with a friend before being diagnosed with brain cancer) has had 85 per cent of her tumour removed and has been able to go back to work as a school teacher
Ms Philo’s friends have formed an AC/DC tribute band and will play a show next Friday, August 31, at Blackfriars Bar in Glasgow to raise cash for the Beatson Cancer Charity.
And while 15 per cent of the tumour still remains, Ms Philo said: ‘I’m feeling very good. I’m back to school and the kids are asking about my bald head.
‘It’s funny and lovely and everybody is back to normal and that makes me feel normal.
‘My wedding is next year and that will be the best day ever.’
To donate to the Beatson Cancer Charity visit the tribute band’s JustGiving page.