Neuroscientist Diagnosed with a Brain Tumour: Her Story Will Shock You

Can you imagine the irony of being a neuroscientist having studied tumours your entire academic career - and then being told, in your thirties, that you have a brain tumour?

Fast forward five years, having healed your brain tumour - only to be diagnosed again with a spine tumour. This is the real-life story told today on The Forties Formula podcast.

Hosts Jasmin Dhillon and Amanda Lim sit down with DR. SARAH NAMI AHN —a UCLA-trained neuroscientist, fashion entrepreneur, tumour survivor and mother of two—who takes us on a wild, vulnerable ride through a double tumour diagnosis, ICU hallucinations, and a legit spiritual awakening.

Part science, part survival, part sass—Sarah’s (true!) story is proof that midlife can be terrifying, hilarious, and unexpectedly luminous all at once.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why certain types of brain tumours affect more women than men
• What it’s like to survive a near-death experience in an ICU
• Her journey through pain, despair, and every healing modality under the sun
• How science and spirituality can work together to heal us

May is Brain Tumour Awareness Month, and if you've ever been touched by tumour, felt symptoms that weren't quite right, or worried for a loved one - please listen to Sarah's story about what is possible, and the assurance that there can be a full, robust life after near-death.

🎧 Listen now to The Forties Formula—and if this episode moved you, forward it to a woman who might be navigating her own unexpected chapter.

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Chapters

00:00 Dr. Sarah Ahn’s ICU hallucinations and near-death moment

06:00 Surviving a brain tumour diagnosis while raising young kids

10:30 What women need to know about tumours and misdiagnosis

19:00 Post-op delusions, fentanyl, and finding meaning

24:00 How she coped with pain, fear, and feeling like a “bad patient”

28:00 Life after surgery and redefining resilience

32:00 The discovery of her second tumour—and a deeper health spiral

36:00 Chronic pain, despair, and exploring alternative healing

41:00 From Botox to bioresonance: Sarah’s healing experiments

46:00 Embracing energy work and spiritual tools for pain management

50:00 Microdosing, psychedelic therapy, and one terrifying trip

55:00 What she learned from pain—and how she lives differently now

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